This Link - Green Energy Times

ISSUE 39 • AUG - OCT 2016
7
A
YE
R S!
FREE!
Celebrating 7 Years …since May 4, 2009!
SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS FOR VT, NH, MA, ME, NY and Beyond
Energy Independence, Energy Efficiency, Sustainable Living and MORE!
HUGE SOLAR
… just in time for Schools
By George Harvey
Hampshire College’s New Solar System
In 2015, Hampshire College in Amherst,
Massachusetts, announced it was planning to be the first liberal arts college in
the United States to be powered entirely
by its own solar photovoltaic (PV) system.
Now, it is making good on that promise.
The college is using 19 acres of its
campus property to site the 4.7 megawatt system. The project is being built by
SolarCity, which will also operate it. Solar
Design Associates of Harvard, Massachusetts, provided design work.
Chelvanaya Gabriel, a Hampshire
College staff member who served on
the planning committee for the project,
addressed concerns about putting solar
panels on land which had once been
agricultural land. She pointed out that the
land can be used for agriculture again,
when the college decides to re-purpose it
in the future.
Readers of Green Energy Times may
remember earlier articles on Hampshire
College’s sustainability efforts. “Coming
Soon to a College Near You” appeared
in the October issue of 2015, describing
the college’s Hitchcock Center. In August
of 2015, we had an article on the R. W.
Kern Center, called “This is How You Do It.”
Very remarkably, both of these buildings,
under construction simultaneously at
the same college, were designed to meet
the Living Building Challenge (LBC). This
represented the only time a single institution had two projects underway declared
for the LBC.
Clearly, Hampshire College stands out
as a unique environmental leader in more
than one way. (Does this allow it to be
called very unique? Perhaps Hampshire
College will provide not only environmentalists but experts on English usage with
new guidance.)
Hampshire College stands out as a
great example of an organization that
“walks the walk.” The solar project is expected to save about 3,000 metric tons of
carbon dioxide emissions each year. And
by the way, for those who worry about
the high cost of renewable energy, it is
also expected to save the college about
$400,000 each year.
Cont’d on p.32
VT State
Representative
Takes Extra
Pride in Local
Manufacturing
Business
www.greenenergytimes.org | 802.439.6675
A Pollution Solution
By N.R. Mallery
Sarah Copeland
Hanzas, a Democrat,
represents Bradford,
Fairlee and West Fairlee
in the Vermont House
of Representatives. She
takes special pride in
the environmental work
done by her constituents,
increasing their efficiency
and installing renewable
power. Now, she is doubly proud of her father’s
business, Copeland Furniture. It has a long history
of being green, and it has
just become greener.
Tim and Jenny
Copeland started their
furniture business in
Photo: Isaac Copeland
Bradford in 1975. They
have built a reputation
Copeland Furniture’ s manufacturing plant excels with their renewable energy example of a 500-kW solar system … Bradford, Vermont
of being leaders in green
living since then. Jenny is
a member of the town’s
their furniture is from locally sourced and
lucky for the Copelands. The land next to
Conservation Committee. Tim made his
sustainably grown forests. The company is
the Copeland Furniture manufacturing
business an example of green manufacmoving constantly toward more environplant had become contaminated from
turing. He installed efficiency systems and
mentally friendly finishes. The facility was,
dry-cleaning done by a manufacturer of
sustainable practices that made sense
in fact, state of the art in nearly every way.
athletic jerseys, who previously owned
over the years. His business was a foundSolar power waited, however, for just the
the adjacent location. Chemicals from that
ing member of the Sustainable Furnishright time.
business contaminated the soil on the
ings Council. Much of the business’ power
Most people do not consider themthree-acre site. When land is polluted in
came from a cogeneration system that
selves fortunate to have contaminated
such a way, there is not a lot that can be
also supplied heat for the plant. Wood for
land next door, but it turned out to be
done with it. Nevertheless,
Cont’d on p. 8
THE SUN IS RISING
IN THIS ISSUE:
The Transition to Renewables Is Unstoppable
It’s always darkest before the dawn. But the
bad news is being dispelled in the light of day.
Diablo Canyon and the grid paradigm.
On June 21, 2016, Pacific Gas and
Electric (PG&E) announced that it would
cease generating power with the nuclear
reactors at the Diablo Canyon plant as the
license term ends. This was an important
announcement for several reasons.
Diablo Canyon has the only two nuclear
reactors in California generating power for
the grid. They are of environmental concern for a number of reasons, one of which
was that they are sited near a number of
geological faults. On the other hand, both
reactors are rated at over 1,000 mega-
By George Harvey
watts (MW), and they supply 8.6% of the
electrical power for the state, an important
consideration for any plan to close the
plant down.
While anti-nuclear activists cheered the
decision to close the plant, many missed
a more important issue. The decision to
close the plant is not simply one more
step toward weening the United States off
nuclear power. We should go further than
noticing that these reactors are joining
seven others whose closing dates have
been announced. When we do, we can see
that they speak to a complete shift in the
electric supply paradigm, the underlying
Thank you to Our Sponsors For Their Continued Support
Groundbreaking for Hampshire College’s 4.7 MW
solar array is underway. Courtesy photo.
VT Net Metering Uncertainties p. 3
Electric School Buses /Solar Car p. 5
Going Off the Grid p. 9
DIY Solar Ground Mount p. 15
Sustainable Tompkins County p. 20
VT Law on Microhydro p. 33
Fall Planting & Pawpaws pp. 36-39
strategy of how energy is produced.
Old thinking would dictate that Diablo
Canyon be replaced by a base-load power
plant. That, however, is not what was announced. The plant will be
replaced by sources often
Cont’d on p.20
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It is yourDeb
help
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Green Energy Times is produced by 100% solar power, off-grid
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is also Solar-powered. Because all of our employees work from
home, our carbon footprint is kept to a minimum. We all grow
and harvest organically and live as sustainably as possible. We DO
walk our talk! Peace!
the otherNEWS
side of the fence. Enjoy it. Ck out our
LATE-BREAKING
Sustainable Sports section on pp. 38-39.
1. First, Leading climate scientists have warned that the Earth
is perilously
close to breaking
Please
have fun responsibly,
not only
through a 1.5° C upper limit for global warming, only eight
months
after
the
target
was set. The decifor the sake of a future, environmentally
but
sion to try to limit warming to 1.5° C, compared to pre-industrial
wasinmade
the Paris
also with temperatures,
your own health
mind.atCheck
out
Summer! What a great season we have in
climate negotiations last December. Read more at http://bit.ly/reach1pt5degrees.
the sunscreen recipe on p. 35, and the tips
front of us. Let’s make it a summer of awareness
2.notEnergy
growing
the U.S.
car market,
ledaby
TeslaLife
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but
throughout
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you willcost.
read[http://bit.ly/schoolgirls-polymer]
just how
about Michael Rupert’s passing, we do want to
some are tackling this problem with the efficient
take a moment to honor the legendary life that
make-overs in Rutland, Vt. A cover article also
he devoted to what he foresaw for our planet
helps to simply the IPCC Report and the climate
and our future before many of us even had a
mitigations that we need to take note of and DO
clue. I know that he was responsible for opening
something about.
my eyes, from an old A.M. Coast to Coast a good
Solar is feverishly moving forward with
15 yrs ago. It made me cry with horror of the
examples all over the region -- beit on a comfuture that we are not facing. I only hope that
munity scale, homes, as well as businesses - it’s
he understood the impact he had on so many
happening! We have a lot of great news about
of us. If you never read his book , Collapse, I
solar, wind and some exciting info for microrecommend reading it or watching the video.
hydro, for all of you with a potential site.
It was printed by our own local Chelsea Green
But, summer is not all about work. We
Publishing Co.
must not forget to G.E.T. Outdoors! There are
Last but not least: G.E.T. going to SolarFest!
many topics that you might find interesting to
Congratulations to them for 20-years of helping
help you survive the season that is upon us.
to advance solar in our state and beyond. It’s a
Vacationing and playing locally is a great way
great way to combine play and education and
to keep emissions lower. From hiking, to biking,
relax and dance the night away with music that
camping, picnicing, swimming, it’s right here will probably not let you stay seated out there
where we live, and work. We ARE the ‘greener’ on
under the stars. G.E.T. will be there this year
and we are looking to help them celebrate all
of their hard work and efforts. There is only one
SolarFest. If you have never been there before,
this is the year to make it happen!
A New Definition of
SUSTAINABLE
Sustainable means that the people living in a given politically or geographically defined area do not live beyond
the limits of the renewable resources
of that area for either input (energy
and matter) or output (food, material
goods, and absorption of pollution).
They purchase or trade from environmentally conscious sources for those
necessities that cannot be locally satisfied. They live both in numbers and
in a manner that allows present and
future generations of all life in that
area to enjoy a healthy habitat over
the long term.
Adopted by the Executive Committee, VT
Chapter of the Sierra Club on Apr11, 2014.
The same or very similar definition has
also been adopted by: Vermonters for
Sustainable Population, October 2013
TABLEOF
OFCONTENTS
CONTENTS
TABLE
EDITORS’ PAGE, SUBSCRIPTIONS ...................2
NET METERING
EXPANSION
..........................3
NEWS
& VIEWS …
3
TRANSPORTATION
...................4-6
UNCERTAINTIES
FORSECTION
NET METERING
IN VT.....3
LEAKING
PIPELINES.
................................3
RHOADESOIL
CAR,
NO IDLING
IS A LAW ...........4-6
TRANSPORTATION
......................
4-6
EV FORUM, SMARTSECTION
COMMUTING
...................6
THE
INTERNALNEWS
COMBUSTION
ENGINE.............4
COMMUNITY
................................6-7
ELECTRIC
SCHOOL
BUSES.
..............................5
SOLAR FARMS;
GREEN
BIKES
PROJECT ..........7
WORLD’S 1ST SOLAR-POWERED FAMILY CAR..5
RENEWABLE ENERGY GENERATION - 8-17
SOLAR ROADWAY..........................................6
SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAICS
........................8-12
ENERGY
NEWS .............................................
7
G.E.T.
TO
KNOW
YOUR
SOLAR
INSTALLERS ...........8
CARBON TAX................................................
7
SOLAR IS INEXPENSIVE
...............................10
RENEWABLE
ENERGY GENERATION.................
7-22
SOLARFEST
- 20 YEARS!
...............................12
VT
OFF-GRID STORY
.............................................
9
THETFORD
COMMUNITY
NOT HORSING
AROUND
GEOTHERMAL
& MICROHYDRO
NEWS
........10
14
BARRE
WIND:HOUSING AUTHORITY GOES SOLAR.......... 11
REV
LAUNCHES
TOOL..................................
11
WHY
VT & NOTNEW
KANSAS?
.............................15
SOLAR
INSTALLER:
MILHOUSE
ENTERPRISES
......
12
INCENTIVES ..................................... 16-17
DURHAM, NH NEARLY 100% SOLAR..................... 13
HEATING & COOLING ..............................18
NH COMMUNITY SOLARIZING UPDATES............... 14
SHADE + SHADING _$AVINGS .....................19
DO-IT-YOURSELF GROUND MOUNT...................... 15
BUILDINGS FOR
OUR FUTURE - FEATURE! .......20-24
INCENTIVES
...........................................16-17
GREEN
BUILDERS
MIDST.................18
.................21
HELPING SCHOOLSIN
TOOUR
GO SOLAR
WINDOWS;
BUILDING
SCIENCE ..............22-23
BLOCK
ISLAND
WIND FARM.........................18
LOW HANGING
FRUIT-NEW
COLUMN ...........24
BUSINESS
& FINANCIAL
..............................19
TOO
BIG
TO
FAIL
–
TOO
BIG
TO
SAVE.............19
NEWS, CLUES, & PRODUCT REVIEWS
- 25
FEATURE:
SUSTAINABLE
COMMUNITIES......
20
ENERGY EFFICIENCY: PP 26-27
TOMPKINS
COUNTY
SUSTAINABILITY
.........
20
WEATHERIZATION IN NH .............................26
NATIONAL
BIOENERGY
DAY.
.
.......................
SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE: PG 28-30 21
HEATING & COOLING .................................. 23
START A VEGGIE GARDEN ANYWHERE..........28
GEOTHERMAL NOT NICHE MARKET ............. 22
EMERGING
FRONTIERS:GRASS
....................29
CLIMATE
CHANGE
.................................
24-25
PERMACULTURE
...........................................30
THE RENEWABLE ENERGY FUTURE EMERGES.... 24
SUSTAINABLE
EDUCATION......................
31
BETT’S
ENVIRONMENTAL
AWARD............... 25
TEACHING
TEENS;
INDIAN MUSEUM
.......... 25
31
BETT’S
CLIMATE
PREDICTION.
.....................
CALIFORNIA
WILDFIRES..............................25
CLIMATE CHANGE
- PG 32
BUILDING
..........................
REASON INEFFICIENCY
A DARK PLACE-BOOK
REVIEW26-29
....32
PASSIVE
HOUSE
HABITAT FOR
HUMANITY...
IPCC REPORT
-MITIGATION
EXPLAINED
..... 27
32
NET-ZERO
READY:
HALFMOON
CONST.
NY....
28
DINING …IN THE GREEN - ARIANA’S ........33
PASSIVE HOUSE: THE NEXT LEVEL ............... 29
RESOURCES: PG 34
BUILDING & ENERGY EFFICIENCY .......... 30-31
GUIDE TO ADVERTISERS ..............................34
DITCH THE OLD FRIDGE .............................. 30
INGRED.OF
- PLASTIC
.....................35
NH
SETS NEWMONTH
ENERGY
EFF. GOALS.
...............30
SUNSCREEN
....................................35
NEW
ENERGYRECIPE
STAR WINDOW
RATINGS.........31
SUSTAINABLEEDUCATION....................
LIVING - PP 36-39:
SUSTAINABLE
32-33
FOOD
HOME, SWEET DREAMING ......36
VT
LAWCOOPS;
ON MICROHYDRO...........................
33
VEEP
EXPANDS
HANDS-ON
PROGRAM.........
33
GRILLING;
GREENING
OF EYECARE
..............37
RESOURCES,
LISTINGS
&
CLASSIFIEDS
.
.
......
34
SUSTAINABLE SPORTS - PG 38-39
GUIDE
TO ADVERTISERS.
.............................34
KEEP YOUR
EVENT OUT .OF
LANDFILL ...........38
IT’S A GREEN LIFE AFTER ALL ................. 35-39
G.E.T. OUTDOORS! ......................................39
INGREDIENT OF THE MONTH: SLEEPING...... 35
GREENER LAWNMOWING OPTIONS............. 35
SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE ................ 36-39
GENERAL STORE SUSTAINABILITY............... 36
DAN AND WHITS......................................... 36
COOKING WITH SOLAR.................................37
PICKIN’ UP PAWPAWS..................................38
KALE FOR LATE SEASON HARVEST................38
ELMORE ROOTS FALL PLANTING...................39
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NEWS & VIEWS
WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG 802.439.6675 August 2016 3
Uncertainties For Net Metering in VT
net-metering market threatened to crater
this important Vermont-grown sector of
our clean energy economy, taking jobs
and energy savings elsewhere. “This rule is bad not just for our environment, but for Vermont consumers as
well,” said Ben Edgerly Walsh, Climate and
Energy Program Director for VPIRG. “Make
no mistake, this rule would dismantle
more than a decade of work done to build
towards clean energy in Vermont and
pulls what amounts to a bait and switch
on thousands of current solar customers
at the same time.”
“This rule would significantly damage
the ability of towns and cities to go solar,”
said Johanna Miller, Energy Program Director for the Vermont Natural Resources
Council. “It’s the exact opposite direction
we need to be going, making it more
difficult for municipalities [that] want to
generate clean electricity to do so. The
new proposal ignores the comments of
hundreds of Vermonters who showed up
at public hearings to support municipal
solar and community solar options for
Vermonters who can’t go solar on their
own roof or in their own backyard.”
“Vermont has a long legacy of working
to achieve a clean and energy independent future for our children and grandchildren, so it’s extremely disappointing
to see a net-metering rule that would
make it significantly more difficult for
many towns, farmers, businesses, and
families to go solar,” added Lauren Hierl,
Political Director, Vermont Conservation
Voters.
Vermonters need and want more clean,
local, and reliable energy. In May of 2016,
Public Service Board Chooses Utilities Over Customers;
Stalls Climate Action and Renewable Energy Progress
and out of
state energy
while doing
their part to
reduce pollution that
causes climate change.
“Vermonters are
aggressively
taking action
to address
our climatechange challenges, but
monopoly
utilities and
regulators
seem bent
on halting
progress by
One of many pro-solar events held by groups in Vermont last year. Photo courtesy of VPIRG.
taking away
our choices,
Environmental, climate, and sustainable
increasing costs, and cutting jobs,” said
business groups joined together recently
Olivia Campbell Andersen, Renewable
to express grave concern over proposed
Energy Vermont Executive Director. “We
changes to net metering, the program
hope that regulators will reconsider their
that allows Vermonters to choose renewplans to derail local job creating renewable energy. The diverse organizations
able energy progress in our State.”
are urging the Public Service Board to
Proposed policies including retroactive
reconsider its proposed rule as it undercustomer fees, an annual market-disruptmines the State’s commitment to help
ing cap, and elimination of support for afVermonters increase their self-reliance
fordable community solar projects which
and decrease dependence on fossil fuels
represent more than 80% of the current
Biomass Heat for
Business & Schools
Leaking Oil Pipelines
Stevens High School, Claremont, NH
Cont’d on p.19
Biomass Heat for
Business & Schools
Stevens High School, Claremont, NH
High Efficiency Dry Chip
& Wood Pellet Boiler Systems
High Efficiency Dry Chip
& Wood Pellet Boiler Systems
Best Quality Boilers
Best Quality Boilers
Top Workmanship
Top Workmanship
By George Harvey
Last September, the Washington D.C.
Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the
National Environmental Policy Act did
not require federal agencies authorizing
a portion of an interstate oil pipeline to
conduct a “whole-pipeline” environmental
review. This means that portions of the
pipeline can be reviewed separately, and
this, in turn, means that the Army Corps of
Engineers can approve a gigantic pipeline
piecemeal, without an overall environmental review.
This practice has gone on for years. An
example is the Gulf Coast Pipeline. The
project is 485 miles long, running through
Oklahoma and Texas. Each water crossing
in the pipeline is allowed to be treated as
a separate “single and complete project.”
Each of these projects is too small to
warrant a complete environmental review
by itself. So the upshot is that the overall
project, all 485 miles of it, can be rubberstamped, with no opportunity for public
approval.
We might do well to remind ourselves
of the recent history of major pipelines
carrying petrochemicals. The number
of failures is astounding. There was at
least one major incident in every month
of 2015. The United States had one fire,
explosion, or environmentally damaging
leak about every ten days, on average.
These are listed in a Wikipedia article, “List
of pipeline accidents in the United States
in the 21st century.”
Please note that this does not include
fires or leaks at the wells, in terminals, or
during transportation by truck, rail, or
ship. The natural gas leak of last winter
at Porter Ranch, in California, is not one
hundreds of Vermonters attended the
Public Service Board’s two public hearings on the net metering rule revisions
and submitted comments supporting
community solar and urging the Board to
continue a strong net-metering program.
“Vermont needs to move forward
and this new rule would be a giant step
backward in terms of the state’s energy
independence,” said Daniel Barlow, public
policy manager at Vermont Businesses for
Social Responsibility. “Home and community solar are growing industries and
creating good jobs for Vermonters. We
should advance policies that help more
Vermonters and Vermont businesses
go green, unfortunately this new plan
contains little urgency to address the
economic and environmental threat of
climate change.”
HEAT LOCAL!
HEAT LOCAL!
Serving NH, VT & MA
Serving NH, VT & MA
Whelen Engineering, Charlestown, NH
Design Design Install Install Service Service Destruction from a gas pipeline explosion in San Bruno, California, 2010. Photo by Brocken Inaglory. CC BY-SA 3.0.
Fuel of the 2015 leaks in the Wikipedia article,
because it was a storage facility, and not
a pipeline. And it does not include local
pipes distributing gas within utility areas.
So the 3,200 small leaks found in the
natural gas distribution system in Boston
by university students were also not
included. Further, the fact that upward of
6% of all natural gas coming out of the
ground is lost into the atmosphere at the
wellhead is also not included.
President Obama signed the Protecting our Infrastructure of Pipelines and
Enhancing Safety Act of 2016 into law in
June. Known as the PIPES Act, it authorizes the federal government to move
swiftly in the event of a pipeline leak or
rupture. But that only addresses problems
that have already happened. That, however, is not the best we can do. “An ounce
of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”
Pipelines that do not exist can never leak.
Fortunately, there are a number of
organizations fighting this situation. Indigenous tribal groups are suing, because
the sovereignty of their land, guaranteed
by the federal government, is being ig-
Whelen Engineering, Charlestown, NH
nored: http://bit.ly/tribal-pipeline-lawsuit.
The Sierra Club is also continuing to work
on the problem of pipelines and fracking:
www.sierraclub.org.
Fuel 4 August 2016 WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG
TRANSPORTATION
802.439.6675
THE INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE
By Carl Pope
-- I s
the
E nd
in
S ight ?
unlimited budget, could not produce diesel
engines that both met U.S. NOx standards,
and also retained the fuel efficiency that
makes automakers (and customers) love
diesels.
Auto and truck makers have made
remarkable progress in cleaning up soot,
hydrocarbons, sulfur, and carbon monoxide
from internal combustion engines, while
making those engines more efficient so that
carbon pollution per passenger or ton-mile
could be lowered. Nitrogen oxide (NOx)
pollutants from gas-powered engines can
also be cleaned up. Auto-makers like diesels
because they squeeze more energy out of
Now Volkswagen has agreed to one of
fuel – but they also make it much harder
the largest pollution penalties in histo control NOx emissions. Volkswagen did
tory – whose hidden underside is that
not cheat to save a few dollars – it cheated
the engineers are still failing. Of the $15
because it couldn’t make its small diesel
billion Volkswagen has so far committed,
cars meet U.S. standards. (Large diesels deal
$5 billion is to balance the environmental
with NOx with a cumbersome, bulky urea
harm done by the 500,000 cheat-cars – as
injection system, which cannot practically
you might expect. The other $10 billion,
be accommodated in smaller vehicles.)
$20,000 per vehicle, designated to deal
This engineering limit on diesels is
with the cars, not the air, will not, however,
running into a global revolution of attifix the vehicles. Even given an effectively
tudes about air pollution. Deaths from air
unlimited budget, engineers have not
pollution are becoming a larger and larger
yet figured out how to make these cars
catastrophe and a bigger and bigger politiemit less NOx pollution without creatcal issue. New studies from the International
ing an equally disastrous increase in CO2
Energy Agency calculated that 6.5 million
emissions. If such a solution ever emerges,
people each year die from air pollution; simowners of these cars can get their vehicles
ilar studies emerge regularly from the World
cleaned up – but that seems unlikely.
Health Organization. Governments and
Meanwhile, owners can drive the cars for
business can no longer conceal the death
another two years, then turn them in to
toll, and the public is unwilling
be scrapped. They get paid
to tolerate it. Governments are
the value of the car not on the
2015
acting. The Volkswagen settleday they turn it in, but on the
was the year
ment is not the only reguladay when the cheating was
in which climate
tory crackdown on internal
revealed. So their incentives
combustion engines.
pollution from transare to drive the car until the
The Chinese government
deadline, and then sell it back
portation exceeded
has drastically modified its
for more than its value. During
emissions from elecentire development strategy
these two years the pollution
tricity. Oil, not coal, is
to respond to citizen pressure
continues.
now the biggest
about lethal pollution. The
Given the complexities of the
danger.
Indian government is scramClean Air Act, and the threat of
bling to deal with growing
litigation by the purchasers of
public anger. In Europe, where
the cars (who are not the real
auto manufacturers have been massively
victims, those who breathe the pollution
manipulating emission testing results,
are), this wasteful use of $10 billion may
and urban air quality has been degrading
have been forced on regulators. What the
as a result, public outcry has led cities to
settlements make crystal clear, however,
begin banning significant
is that Volkswagen’s engineers, with an
When Volkswagen engineers
were challenged
to enable small
diesel engines to
meet stringent
U.S. standards
for nitrogen
oxide pollution,
they tried, and
tried – and after
failing, cheated.
Enjoy the savings with low gas prices
and be ready for the future.
2016 Ford Fusion Energi
36 MPG HWY & 40 MPG CITY
2016 Scion iA
42 MPG HWY & 33 MPG CITY
2015 Toyota Prius c TWO
46 MPG HWY & 53 MPG CITY
Cont’d on p.6
2016 Mazda 3i Sport
41 MPG HWY & 36 MPG CITY
2016 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid
44 MPG HWY & 40 MPG CITY
2016 Honda Civic EX
41 MPG HWY & 31 MPG CITY
MPG is based on model year EPA mileage ratings. Use for comparison
purposes only. Your actual mileage will vary depending on how you
drive and maintain your vehicle.
Driven To Amaze.
grappone.com
514 - 594 Route 3A, Bow NH
369 Miracle Mile, Exit 19 off I-89
Lebanon, NH  (603) 448-6969
855.902.0293
TRANSPORTATION
WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG 802.439.6675 August 2016 5
Electric School Buses
Opportunities in the Northeast
The world’s first solar-powered family car
By Ryan Gerrity, Drive Electric Vermont
School buses generally come in large
Electric vehicle technology still has a
fleets, powered almost exclusively by diesel
higher upfront cost than a diesel vehicle, but
fuel, making them an important potential
there are many opportunities for savings over
component of a public strategy to reduce
time which can offset this initial investment.
greenhouse gas emissions, improve air qualFor example, the number of components
ity and improve health. In Vermont alone,
found in an electric drive system is only a
there are over 1,800 diesel buses transportfraction of the amount found in a diesel
ing more than 75,000 children every school
engine which means no oil changes and
day. The New Hampshire school bus fleet
dramatically less maintenance needed in
has 2,900 buses and transports over 175,000
general. Electric drive systems can save on
children. These buses release exhaust
average, upwards of $10,000 annually on
containing carcinogens, particulates, and
maintenance.
pollutants known to cause issues such as
Lower fuel costs are another benefit of
facial irritation, respiratory inflammation,
electric school buses. Electricity rates are
higher susceptibility to allergens or even serirelatively consistent compared to the pricing
ous health problems such as reduced lung
of diesel and other conventional fuels and
function, asthma attacks, heart disease and
an electric school bus can be powered with
lung cancer. Conelectricity
sidering these
equivalent to
issues, school
about $1.25
buses are a great
per gallon of
candidate for
fuel. Costs
electrification.
for charging
The Vermont
electric school
Energy Investbuses can
ment Corporapotentially be
tion’s Transportafurther mitigattion Efficiency
ed with time
group has studof use rates
ied the feasibility
that encourage charging
of electric transit
during off-peak
buses in Vermont
hours.
and is currently
Buses
working on an
Courtesy photos from Lion Bus.
equipped with
electric school
bi-directional charging technology also have
bus demonstration project in four Massachusetts school districts. This article shares some
the potential to offer a vehicle to building
of the opportunities and challenges that
(V2B) and vehicle to grid (V2G) service. With
need to be addressed for greater adoption of
this technology, buses could supply schools
electric school bus technology.
with electricity to avoid drawing from the
Electric school bus technology is becomgrid at peak rates, to save money, or provide
ing more accessible, creating a growing oprelief to the grid when peak rates are present.
portunity for school districts in the Northeast
A utility partnership where buses provide
to transition to clean, zero-emission vehicles.
grid reliability services during peak electricity usage times has the potential to generate
Companies like TransPower in California
revenue while the buses are not being used
and Lion Bus of Canada are already making
for student transportation. While this apelectric school bus components and fully
plication is not yet readily available, it has the
functional buses. Through these companies,
potential to add an entirely new functionalyou can retrofit a used bus with electric drive
ity, and value to school buses.
components, or buy a new, purpose-built
Perhaps the greatest opportunity for elecelectric school bus, making it possible to convert diesel school buses to all-electric today.
tric school buses is to provide clean transpor-
Keep us in mind for low rolling resistance tires and
all of your Hybrid/EV needs. We work on all Hybrids
and Electric Vehicles, and specialize in Toyota Prius.
(802) 388-7620
33 Seymour Street
Middlebury, VT 05753
Mon.-Fri. 8-5 • Sat. 8-Noon
[email protected]
Photo: TU Eindhoven, Bart van Overbeeke.
The team at Stella Lux celebrates what they call the world’s first solar-powered family
car. This solar-powered, all-electric vehicle can move four people 960 miles on a single
solar charge. This vehicle is emblematic of the ‘smart car’ of our future: efficient, environmentally-friendly, and connected with other vehicles in the transportation network.
Learn more at solarteameindhoven.nl/stella-lux/
tation for our children and protect them from
exposure to dangerous particulates in diesel
fumes. Unlike diesel buses, plug-in electric
school buses have no tailpipe emissions. In
addition to eliminating the health risks to
children riding school buses, we can generally improve air quality in communities and
help reduce our greenhouse gas emissions
which contribute to climate change.
The main challenge for mass adoption of
electric school buses is cost. A new diesel
bus typically costs $90,000. The cost of an
electric school bus is around $350,000, which
includes charging infrastructure purchase, in-
Go! Vermont is a free resource
for commuters who want to reduce
the cost and environmental impact
of driving. The program features a
carpool/vanpool matching service
and lots of practical information
about other ways to get around.
stallation and basic software. Public funding
is available to help defray the costs of replacing diesel school buses through the Diesel
Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) passed
in 2005. This program provides funding
for replacing outdated diesel vehicles and
improving diesel vehicle engines to reduce
emissions. As technology improves and more
school buses are deployed there will be more
opportunities to reduce costs. With this in
mind, electric school
bus fleets may become
more common in the
near future.
Q&A Hotline: 800-685-RIDE
ConnectingCommuters.org
Agency of Transportation
800-685-RIDE (7433)
TRANSPORTATION
6 August 2016 WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG 802.439.6675
SMART COMMUTING IN NH & VT
Transportation emissions are among the worst offenders that add to the rising CO2
levels in our atmosphere. In recent months we have learned that our efforts have begun
to reduce the detrimental air quality counts (NHDES), but as you may have learned from
numerous other reports such as the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), http://
climatechange2013.org/, global warming is still advancing faster than expected.
How do we get our emissions down now? By making new commuting choices!
LOTS OF CHOICES. Smart Commuting is all about knowing your options and planning ahead. There are many choices to get around in New Hampshire and Vermont, The
first place to start in Vermont is “Go Vermont” for statewide choices to travel more efficiently. Whether getting around town, commuting to work or school, or planning a day
trip, share the driving or ride with someone else to help save our planet and to save
approx. $2,000 annually. The statewide VT site also lists services for commuters, tourist,
and shoppers.
In New Hampshire you’ll find a similar site at “NH Rideshare” where you can find carpools, transit routes and schedules, bike and walk trails and links to statewide transportation information.
When carpooling, remember to use the local Park n Ride lots to meet your connections. Start your trip planning at connectingcommuters.org or nh.gov/dot/programs/
rideshare/ for statewide choices.
IN NEW HAMPSHIRE
UPPER VALLEY RIDESHARE (UVRS) - Carpool matching, benefits and support for commuters in/out of Upper Valley. 802-295-1824 x208. uppervalleyrideshare.com.
ADVANCE TRANSIT (AT) – Free weekday bus for Lebanon, Hanover, Enfield, Canaan, NH,
and Norwich and Hartford, VT. Dartmouth and DHMC Shuttles. ADA & Travel Training
Services. 802-295-1824. advancetransit.com
CARROLL COUNTY TRANSIT - Services and connections to Belknap County. 888-997-2020
tccap.org/nct.htm
CITY EXPRESS - Serves Keene. 603-352-8494 hcsservices.org/services/transportation/cityExpress.
php
COMMUNITY ALLIANCE TRANSPORTATION - Services for Claremont & Newport. 603863-0003
CONCORD AREA TRANSIT (CAT) - Serves Concord 603-225-1989 concordareatransit.org
CONTOOCOOK VALLEY TRANSPORTATION (CVTC) - Monadnock Rideshare for the
southwest region 877-428-2882 cvtc-nh.org
COOPERATIVE ALLIANCE FOR REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION (CART) - Serving
the Chester, Derry, Hampstead, Londonderry, Salem and Windham, limited service to
Plaistow. 603-434-3569 cart-rides.org
DARTMOUTH COACH - Services to Boston, Logan Airport and NYC 800-637-0123 dartmouthcoach.com
MANCHESTER TRANSIT AUTHORITY (MTA) - Manchester, with links to Nashua and
Concord. 603-623-8801 mtabus.org/services/local-buses
S O L A R R O A D WAY S
Follow
the SOLAR
Brick ROAD ...
Image: courtesy of Solar Roadways
By George Harvey
Last year, Scott and Julie Brusaw ran
an Indiegogo campaign to help fund a
creative project called Solar Roadways.
The idea was that the roads themselves
could be solar photovoltaic (PV) collectors.
It turned out that their idea had a wide
appeal. The campaign raised over $2.2
million.
The idea of solar roads has been tried
in other countries with some success. A
section of a bicycle path was set up to generate electricity in the Netherlands. A 230foot section of the road was converted to
include PV modules. In its first six months
of use, there were no problems of note,
and the path produced enough electricity
to power an average home. The project
verified the expected output at 70 kilowatt
hours per square meter per year. If this
seems a bit low, remember that the panels
cannot be tilted toward the sun because
they form the surface of the road.
Aside from producing electricity, having
a road made of solar modules has some
safety implications. The modules can have
LED lights built into them so they can glow
in parts of roads that would otherwise
be painted. They can also glow if detectors embedded in them detect pressure,
providing a driver with a lighted warning
that something is on the road. A solar road
might give you the warning you need to
avoid hitting a deer in the middle of the
night.
The idea of making a road out of glass
seems to defy logic, because glass breaks
so easily. The thing is, if it is supported
evenly so it cannot bend, it turns out to
be very strong. It is so strong, in fact, that
glass rods have been used to reinforce
concrete for military bunkers in places
where wartime shortages prevented steel
from being used. Nevertheless, solar roads
need to be tested under a broad set of
conditions to prove they can be safe for
vehicle traffic.
Now, testing is starting in the United
States. The Missouri Department of Transportation is working with the inventors as
part of its “Road to Tomorrow” initiative.
The tests will be done on a short length
of the historic Route 66. Most of the
money for the initiative will come from
the Brusaws’ original crowd-funding, with
smaller amounts from the state and federal
governments.
The developers’ hope is that everything
will be installed for testing before the first
snows fall in Missouri. If all turns out as expected, we may see solar roadways being
adopted on a wider basis.
NASHUA TRANSIT SYSTEM (NTS) - Buses and trolleys with bike racks. 603-888-0100
RideBigBlue.com
NH RIDESHARE – Your Source for Transportation Alternatives. nh.gov/dot/programs/rideshare/
WINNIPESAUKEE TRANSIT SYSTEM (WTS) - Services Belmont, Franklin, Tilton, Laconia.
603-528-2496 bm-cap.org/wts.htm
IN VERMONT
UPPER VALLEY TRANSPORTATION MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION (Vital Communities) - Works with UV employers and communities to promote and improve commuting
options. 802-291-9100 vitalcommunities.org/transport/index.htm
VERMONT PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION PUBLIC TRANSIT - Lists transit, ferries and more
at aot.state.vt.us/PublicTransit/providers.htm
AMTRAK - Long distance train service. Discounts for AAA members and student advantage card. (800) 872-7245 amtrak.com
CHITTENDEN COUNTY TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY - Burlington bus service with
links to Montpelier, Middlebury and commuter route to Milton. cctaride.org
CONNECTICUT RIVER TRANSIT - Services in Bellows Falls and Springfield. crtransit.org
GO VERMONT - Offers carpool matching and commuter connections in VT 800-6857433 connectingcommuters.org
GREEN MOUNTAIN RAILROAD - Day trips from White River, Champlain Valley, Bellows
Falls and Rutland. rails-vt.com
GREEN MOUNTAIN TRANSIT AGENCY - Local service in Barre, Montpelier, Grand Isle,
Stowe and Lamoille. 802-223-7287 gmtaride.org
GREY HOUND/VERMONT TRANSIT - Long distance bus services. 1-800-231-2222 greyhound.com/
LAKE CHAMPLAIN FERRIES - Transport between New York and Vermont via Lake Champlain. 802-864-9804 ferries.com
MARBLE VALLEY REGIONAL TRANSIT- For Rutland, Killington, rural Manchester, Poultney and Rutland to Bellows Falls. City routes Free on Saturday. 802-773-3244 thebus.com/
RURAL COMMUNITY TRANSPORTATION (RCT) - Buses, vans, and volunteer drivers.
Routes via The Jay-Lyn, The Highlander (Newport - Derby Line); The US RT2 Commuter
(St. J. to Montpelier) and Free routes to rural areas. 802-748-8170 riderct.org
STAGE COACH - Commuter buses from Randolph and Fairlee to Dartmouth, Local village
buses. 800-427-3553 stagecoach-rides.org
THE INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE Cont’d from p.4
segments of the European auto fleet. New
the year in which climate pollution from
EU pollution testing systems will make it
transportation exceeded emissions from
much more difficult and expensive for auto
electricity. Oil, not coal, is now the biggest
manufacturers to “game” emission tests,
danger. That means that advocacy, philanthropic and political efforts that have
leaving diesel vehicles in particular at risk.
focused on emissions from coal are going
Climate concerns and fuel efficiency
to take a closer look at oil. This closer look
standards are also making internal combustion an outmoded technology. The U.S.
will increase the pressure on the internal
is moving forward with new fuel efficiency
combustion engine, which stands out as
and pollution standards for diesels. Counthe main technology sustaining demand
tries like India and China are
for oil.
The internal
passing more stringent polluGovernments all over the
tion rules and eliminating fuel
combustion engine, world – California, the Netherlands, Great Britain, Germany
subsidies. U.S. auto companies
powered as it is by among them -- are considering
are complaining – falsely – that
they cannot meet the current
thousands of small outright bans on the sale of
combustion engines.
round of fuel economy stanexplosions inside internal
dards; they are rightly con(A month ago Norway almost
its cylinders, is a implemented its proposed 2025
cerned that the next round of
post 2021 standards, is likely to
‘remarkable kludge’. ban.) More immediately, Germany, South Korea, Sweden and
exceed the capacity of internal
China are aggressively increascombustion engines to meet.
— Elon Musk
ing incentives for EVs. India’s
This will force a rapid increase in
car manufacturers have joined
market share for electric cars.
with the government to phase out internal
As shared fleet transportation companies like Uber and Lyft seize more and
combustion passenger vehicles by 2030.
more market share, electric vehicles beElon Musk has dubbed the internal
come more and more and more competicombustion engine, powered as it is by
tive. Vehicles which drive 100,000 miles a
thousands of small explosions inside its
year recover the purchase price of an EV
cylinders, a “remarkable kludge.” Automotive engineers have indeed made modern
from savings on fuel and maintenance six
gasoline and diesel engines perform
times faster than a car driven only 15,000
remarkably – but now the limits are being
miles.
reached.
Oil-powered transportation is becoming the most important climate threat.
In 1969 the California
Cont’d on p.7
For both the U.S. and Europe, 2015 was
State Senate rejected – by
2
ENERGY NEWS
THE INTERNAL COMBUSTION
ENGINE - IS THE END NEAR?
WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG 802.439.6675 August 2016 7
Carbon Pricing – On the Agenda
By Tom Hughes
source: carbontax.org
Cont’d from p. 6
Cartoon courtesy of Leah Wittenberg.
www.leahwittenberg.com
one vote – a bill by then State Senator
Anthony Beilenson, to ban the sale of
cars powered by internal combustion
engines. Beilenson’s bill, motivated by
a conviction that California’s critical air
pollution crisis could not be solved by
gasoline-powered autos, has stood for
almost half a century as an example of
environmental over-reach.
Now technology trends, public
insistence, industry investment, and
government policy are all signaling
that Beilenson’s dream – an end to the
burden of a transportation system powered by gasoline or diesel combustion
engines – is coming within grasp.
Carl Pope is a former executive director
and chairman of the Sierra Club. He is
the principal advisor at Inside Straight
Strategies, investigating underlying
economics that link sustainability and
economic development. He is a Senior
Climate Advisor to former NYC Mayor
Michael Bloomberg and has served on
the boards of numerous environmental
organizations. Mr. Pope has also written
three books, one of which, Why the Bush
Administration Is Recklessly Destroying a
Century of Environmental Progress, was
called “a splendidly fierce book” by the
New York Review of Books.
In July, NASA announced that the first
six months of 2016 was the warmest
half-year in history1; NOAA released data
showing that June was the 14th consecutive hottest month on record2; and the
Weather Channel reported that temperatures in the Middle East hit an all-time
high – 129.2 degrees Fahrenheit3.
The signs that runaway global warming
is upon us have never been clearer. Because of the warmest winter in Vermont
history, ski areas opened late and closed
early – leaving hundreds of Vermonters out of work. Algae blooms in Lake
Champlain this summer closed beaches
and endangered drinking water. And ticks
have carried Lyme disease north with
them – infecting thousands and driving
up health care costs.
Despite these unmistakable indications
of global warming, President Obama’s
Clean Power Plan is tied up in court; the
United States House of Representatives
recently voted to oppose sensible solutions to reduce pollution; and the Republican Party nominated Donald Trump for
President – a man who has repeatedly
claimed that global warming is a “hoax.”
With national action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions largely stymied by
a dysfunctional Congress and partisan
legal challenges, it is essential that individual states act as the “laboratories of
democracy” and design their own carbon
pollution-reduction programs to address
the threat of global warming.
What many politicians in Washington
are missing – but many Vermonters
understand – is that reducing carbon pollution will create jobs and strengthen the
economy.
President Obama has called carbon
pricing “the most elegant way to drive
innovation and reduce carbon emissions.”
Vermonters Want a Price on Carbon Pollution
Strongly & Somewhat Support
70%
53%
31%
35%
18%
6%
0%
All Registered Voters
This Energy Independence proposal would do the following: Establish a statewide Energy Independence Fund to help
Vermonters reduce their home heating and transportation costs and weatherize public buildings, like schools; Finance the
Energy Independence Fund with a carbon pollution tax paid by the companies that import oil, gas, or other fossil fuels into
Vermont. It would not apply to electricity; Cut state taxes for all Vermonters and Vermont businesses, with additional
rebates for low-income Vermonters, so that we are protected from fossil fuel companies passing on their costs. Does this
sound like something you would support or oppose?
Likely Voters 18+. June 2016.
In a June 2016 poll, nearly two-thirds of Vermonters voiced support for a carbon pollution tax that invests revenues
in clean energy and cuts other taxes for individuals and businesses. Courtesy image.
And Republican Henry Paulson says, “A tax
on carbon emissions will unleash a wave
of innovation to develop technologies,
lower the costs of clean energy and create
jobs.”
Here in Vermont, there is growing
support for putting a price on carbon
pollution. By a margin of two to one (63%
to 31%) Vermonters support the idea of
a carbon pollution tax paired with cuts
to other taxes and investments in clean
energy4. More than 20,000 Vermonters
have signed a petition calling for the next
governor to lower taxes on income, employment and sales and put a gradually
rising tax on carbon pollution.
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One such proposal has been introduced
by Energy Independent Vermont (www.EnergyIndependentVT.org) – a growing coalition of businesses, non-profits, academics,
clergy and low-income advocates working
to grow Vermont’s clean energy economy
and ensure that all Vermonters are able to
transition away from fossil fuels.
An independent analysis5 of the Energy
Independent Vermont proposal shows it
would:
1. Create two thousand new Vermont
jobs by spurring the transition to cleaner,
local sources of energy and keeping
energy dollars local;
2. Strengthen the economy by increasing gross state product by $100 million
and real disposable income by $150 million; and
3. Cut carbon dioxide emissions by
30% or more over the course of 25 years
as Vermonters switch from heating fuel
www.solartechvt.com • 802-467-3500 • [email protected]
and gasoline to less-polluting alternatives
like solar powered heat pumps and electric vehicles.
Curbing global warming is not a physics
problem; it is a political problem. It is a
market failure that largely excuses fossil
fuel companies from paying the true cost
of the pollution their products cause. Correcting that market failure requires political will – and that is what is missing.
But there is hope on the horizon.
In the year ahead, Vermont will swear
in a new governor, lieutenant governor,
Speaker of the House and Senate President Pro Tempore. There has not been
this level of turnover in Vermont leadership since the late 1960s. With new leadership comes the opportunity for a fresh
take on a persistent problem: the alleged
conflict between bold environmental action and healthy economic development.
Vermonters want clean air, clean water
and a healthful climate. We also want jobs
and economic opportunity. For years,
however, too many politicians have told
us we have to choose between a strong
economy and a healthy environment.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
There is a simple, effective, bipartisan
solution to promote both. By re-aligning
our tax systems with our values we can
create good-paying jobs, reduce pollution
and save money.
Tom Hughes is the Energy Independent
Vermont campaign director.
.
.
.
.
.
1. http://bit.ly/climate-trends
2. http://bit.ly/noaa-record-heat
3. http://bit.ly/mideast-weather-records
4. http://bit.ly/vt-global-warming-poll
5. http://bit.ly/eivt-analysis
SOLAR PV - VERMONT
8 August 2016 WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG 802.439.6675
A Pollution Solution
Cont’d from p.1
there was one thing they could do with
the land that made perfect sense to them.
That was to use it for a solar array.
“We decided about a year ago,” Tim Copeland said. “We’d known about solar for
years, but the immediate impetus came
from Green Mountain Power. GMP was
looking at the feasibility of doing 500-kilowatt sites, the largest systems allowed for
net metering, and queried their customer
base about possible sites. GMP decided
not to move forward with their program,
but we were intrigued enough to want to
do it ourselves. Vermont’s net-metering
program and the State and Federal tax
credits make it financially attractive.
“Financially it made sense in addition
to doing someone good on that field that
was otherwise useless,” Tim Copeland
said. Though the contamination issue was
costly for the business, the solar system
on this site would provide about 75% to
80% of the power needed in the plant.
Under net metering, it would get 19¢ per
kilowatt hour (kWh) for the electricity, the
same amount paid by customers who buy
cow power.
Of course, even with incentives and
other help from both the federal and state
governments, the 500-kilowatt system
needed financing, as it would cost $1.4
million. Ledyard National Bank, of Hanover, New Hampshire, was the primary
lender. Tim Copeland also wanted a nearby solar installer to do the job. He chose
Catamount Solar, of Randolph, Vermont, as
the general contractor.
Construction of the solar system was
started at the end of June. The array is on
To the right is the 500kW solar system at the
Copeland Furniture
Manufacturing plant
in Bradford. Inset is
one of our VT State
Representative, Sarah
Copeland Hanzas,
who is the daughter
of the owner of Copeland Furniture. You
will read more about
what Sarah is up to in
our Oct. Issue of Green
Energy Times.
Bringing
G.E.T.
To NY!
W W W. N YS E S . O R G
Photo: Isaac Copeland
schedule, and should be complete and
grid-connected on about August 15, just
as Green Energy Times is going to press.
“Our interest in sustainability is rooted
in the concepts of conservation and stewardship of resources. Waste of resources
or spoilage of the environment is never a
good thing. As it relates to the solar installation, why wouldn’t we use 850,000 kwh/
year of “free” energy, effectively reducing the marginal amount of energy that
would otherwise need to be produced
by burning oil, coal or gas and achieve a
reduction of 1,000,000 [pounds] in CO2
emissions.”
It might be worth mention that another
solar array is just across the street from the
one Copeland Furniture is building. This
belongs to Farmway, which is now 100%
powered by the sun. Neither business was
especially influenced by the work of the
other, in this matter. Tim Copeland was
very much aware of the Farmway array,
and appreciated its value, but went on his
own thinking. (Cpuld there be something
going around?) Copeland gives credit to is
the typical environmental ethic of people
Free Fuel
Delivered Daily.
raised in Vermont. “The ethic of conservation runs deep and long,” he has said. “It’s
not a recent fad. It has nothing to do with
politics. It’s simply taking care of the land
that you live on.”
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SOLAR PV - VERMONT
WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG 802.439.6675 August 2016 9
Off-Grid in Vermont and Beyond
By Donna Nicol
Life in Vermont is a unique experience,
especially for those who choose to live
somewhere off the beaten path. In the
past few years, the off-grid solar system
and resulting lifestyle has been eclipsed
by its more glamorous, but necessary sibling, the net-metered, grid-tied PV system.
It’s wonderful that so many people are
going solar and choosing to make electricity for their homes and their communities.
But let’s shine a spotlight on the modern
off-grid PV system.
First, what is an off-grid PV system? It is
a photovoltaic system that is a complete,
on-site power plant for your house, cabin,
or camp where electric companies haven’t
installed power lines. Off-grid systems
vary widely in size and cost depending on
the loads the owner desires or requires to
run (in other words, the things that use
electricity) and the unique qualities of the
site. The major components of a system
are the solar array, the inverter, a charge
controller, and the battery bank. These
individual parts will determine how much
power is generated, how much power is
available in the conversion to household
current, and how much power is held in
reserve. And although there is a greater
awareness of energy efficiency now, it is
most vital when designing an off-grid system. The size of the system (and therefore
its cost) is determined by the appliances
the homeowner intends to power. Water
pumping and refrigeration are necessities,
and these appliances and their electrical
24 volt NiFe Iron Edison battery
bank encased in a vented, birch
plywood box with a plexiglass
front to monitor the electrolyte
levels. Mounted on the wall is a
Magnum 4400 Watt inverter.
consumption are considered first when
building a system. Next are appliances
where use is more driven by choice – if
an appliance generates heat (typical
examples include a toaster, coffee maker,
or dishwasher), it needs careful consideration because these items use a significant amount of power and will increase
the size of a system. Off-grid systems are
capable of providing every comfort and
convenience of a “standard” home. They
usually accomplish this by considering
high levels of efficiency rather than making extraordinary investments in power
production. We design systems that work
as efficiently as possible.
OK, you say, so what is the cost? Budget,
of course, is perhaps the largest consideration in choosing the size of an off-grid
power system. The smallest systems
provide DC current only. These systems
are great for camps and cabins, providing
power for simple living with lighting, DC
water pumping, and even entertainment
systems. These solar systems range in
price from around $3,500 to $5,000. Adding more solar modules increases your
charging capacity. Include an inverter, and
now you have AC current available such as
that in a standard house. Many inverters
also include battery chargers that work
with a generator to back up the solar
array as your source of charging for your
battery bank (think dark months, November and December). Battery bank size is
determined by the amount of reserve
power required but also by the
amount of charging capacity
available. We do not oversize
battery banks relative to the
amount of charging available.
Mounting for the solar modules
is another consideration that
has impacts on the cost of the
installed system. In short, these
larger systems which provide
many or all of the conveniences
of a standard, grid-tied home
range in price from $15,000 to
$25,000. Systems can be much
larger, thereby capable of producing and storing significantly
more power. The sky’s the limit
and the equation is simple: more
watts = more dollars! In short,
the off-grid system is tailored to
the needs of the homeowner.
It’s a viable option for producing
your own power and living off
the beaten path! [Editor’s note: …
or even on the beaten path. It is a
viable option for nearly anyone.]
䌀䰀䔀䄀一 䔀一䔀刀䜀夀 匀吀伀刀䄀䜀䔀
䘀伀刀 䄀 一䔀圀 䜀䔀一䔀刀䄀吀䤀伀一
Transporting a palette of American-made
SolarWorld SW285 solar panels and racking to an off-grid installation on an island
in Lake Champlain. This Korean War-era
mechanized transport ship moves goods
from shoreline to islands in the lake.
Solartech’s owners, Rich and
Donna Nicol, have been living and
evolving an off-grid lifestyle for
nearly twenty years now in Sutton,
VT. They design, install, and service
off-grid and grid-tie systems. For
more information, call 802-4673500, email [email protected],
and visit www.solartechvt.com.
This is the first in a new series
that will be featured in Green
Energy Times about Living with
Solar — Off the Grid.
48 volt Rolls-Surrette battery bank encased in a vented, cherry and
maple hardwood box custom-built for the battery bank. All photos by Rich Nicol, Solartech
吀䠀䔀 䰀䄀匀吀 䈀䄀吀吀䔀刀夀
夀伀唀ᤠ䰀䰀 䔀嘀䔀刀 䈀唀夀⸀
伀瘀攀爀 愀 挀攀渀琀甀爀礀 愀最漀Ⰰ 吀栀漀洀愀猀 䔀搀椀猀漀渀 昀漀甀渀搀 愀 戀愀琀琀攀爀礀 搀攀猀椀最渀 琀栀愀琀 栀攀 挀漀渀猀椀搀攀爀攀搀 琀漀 戀攀 渀攀愀爀氀礀 瀀攀爀昀攀挀琀⸀ 吀漀搀愀礀Ⰰ 䤀爀漀渀 䔀搀椀猀漀渀 椀猀 瀀爀漀甀搀 琀漀 漀昀昀攀爀 愀渀 甀瀀搀愀琀攀搀 瘀攀爀猀椀漀渀 漀昀 琀栀椀猀 椀渀挀爀攀搀椀戀氀攀 搀攀猀椀最渀 琀栀愀琀 椀猀 猀瀀攀挀椀昀椀挀愀氀氀礀 洀愀渀甀昀愀挀琀甀爀攀搀 昀漀爀 刀攀渀攀眀愀戀氀攀 䔀渀攀爀最礀 猀礀猀琀攀洀猀⸀
䰀䤀吀䠀䤀唀䴀 䤀刀伀一
椀渀昀漀䀀椀爀漀渀攀搀椀猀漀渀⸀挀漀洀
一䤀䌀䬀䔀䰀 䤀刀伀一
㜀㈀　ⴀ㐀㌀㈀ⴀ㘀㐀㌀㌀
眀眀眀⸀䤀爀漀渀䔀搀椀猀漀渀⸀挀漀洀
SOLAR PV - VERMONT
10 10
August
WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG
802.439.6675
JUNE 2016
15, 2014
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802.439.6675
Pirouette Farm’s
Community solar is
Not Horsing Around!
with a minimum
of disruption.
All of this was
very important
to Robert and
Mary Piro, owners
of the Pirouette
Farm, an equestrian center,
where the array
was sited. Horses
can become very
stressed by the
noise and inconvenience that
can be associated
with construcThe Pirouette Farm’s solar panels were installed in six and a half hours. Photo courtesy
tion. The reduced
of Norwich Technologies.
level of activity to
which the horses
A solar photovoltaic installation in
would be exposed was a definite benefit.
Norwich, Vermont, looks as though it
The pre-wiring in the building was
may set a trend. It was put on the roof of
not a bother to the horses. It was quietly
a barn at the Pirouette Farm, which not
done, and they probably did not notice at
only has the solar exposure, but also the
all. After that, on the day the solar panels
size needed to provide for a number of
arrived, they were already out, in their
families. Among other advantages, it has
regular daily activities.
the cost advantages of a rooftop system,
While the horses were going about
but also the economy of scale of a comtheir regular routine, a crane arrived so
munity array.
the metamodulesTM could be hoisted
Norwich Technologies (NT) used a
into place. It was on the back of a truck
proprietary solar design, EZwith wide wheels, which
PV for the system. EZ-PV was
meant that the soil under
The array’s
developed by the company’s
it was disturbed as little as
180 panels
own designers and is the
possible. The crane lifted 32
company’s unique approach
were installed metamodulesTM, with a toto solar photovoltaic (PV)
tal of 180 panels, to the roof
technology. It provides for pre- in six and one of the barn. Workers on the
assembly of sets of solar panhalf hours! roof put them into their perels into MetaModulesTM. The
manent resting places. Then
panels are fitted to their racks
they wired the modules to
using jigs, which make the entire operathe system, while the crane packed up
tion repeatable and measurable, more
and left for home.
precisely than they could ever hope to be
Norwich Technologies uses two crane
in the field. They are tested in advance by
services at their installations, and they reusing lights and measuring output before
gard both very highly. The operators have
they are brought to the installation site.
received special instruction on how to do
Once there, they are installed very quickly,
the specific job at hand and are experi-
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802.522.2381
• 30% Federal Tax Credits •
www.omearasolar.com • [email protected]
Serving Orange County, VT, Grafton County NH, & the surrounding areas
enced in the work. Hutch Crane Services
of Stowe, Vermont, provided the work at
the Pirouette Farm. NT also uses Miller
Construction of Windsor, Vermont.
The installation of the assembled 60
kW’s of solar panels with the crane was
done in six and a half hours. There was
practically no visible indication that
the crane had ever been there, aside
from the work quietly done on the roof.
Meanwhile, the horses were still out, going through their regular activities. Our
understanding is that not a single horse
complained about the stress caused by
the installation.
SunEdison (Flextronics) 335-watt panels
were used for the system. These highpower monocrystalline panels allow a
greater amount of power in the same
space as less efficient modules that are
more widely available. The panels have
only recently come to market for general
use, though they have
been used for some
Cont’d on p.26
SOLAR PV - VERMONT
WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG
Affordable Housing Is
Going Solar in Barre, VT
The Barre Housing Authority (BHA) is
pleased to announce that it has received
approval from the U.S. Department of
Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to
enter into a long-term net-metering agreement with Encore Renewable Energy of
Burlington, Vermont. Through the agreement, BHA will save more than $700,000
over the next twenty years as a result of
this public-private partnership formed to
develop and finance two separate 500kW
solar arrays on working farms in Orange,
Vermont.
“We view this agreement as a classic
win-win, as BHA anticipates lowering
our electric bill with Green Mountain
Power significantly, while also contributing to the social good associated with the
further development of Vermont’s clean
The company’s owner will
answer your call, meet your budget,
AND build your project.
802.869.2588
802.490.0640
Consultation • Design • Installation • Service
Residential & Commercial
Also offering Heat Pump Installation
saxtonsriversolar.com
[email protected]
Prioritizing Life Cycle Environmental Costs, EU and
USA Components • Serving VT, NH, MA
MasterCard/Visa Accepted
energy economy,” stated Chip Castle, BHA
Executive Director. “As part of our ongoing
operating budget review process, we are
constantly looking for ways to do things as
efficiently as possible in order to allow us
to deliver the greatest amount of highquality, affordable housing to the communities we serve. We have been working
closely with Encore on this exciting opportunity for some time and it now looks like
all the hard work and effort will pay off for
BHA and, hopefully, pave the way for other
Housing Authorities across the country,”
said Castle.
“We are delighted to be working with
BHA on this important community solar
project which is the latest of a number of
projects that Encore has worked on with
leading affordable housing authority partners,” said Encore President Chad Farrell.
“We are committed to this important area
of solar energy development - projects
which deliver low cost solar electricity to
low- and moderate-income households, as
these projects are entirely consistent with
our corporate mission and make financial
sense for our partners, such as BHA.”
802.439.6675 August 2016 11
partnerships as a way to preserve our
“Sustainability is key to preserving our
critical housing stock and to save money
public housing for the future and the
by cutting utility costs. I am proud to supBarre Housing Authority is a leader in this
port this project and remain committed to
effort,” said Jim Reed, HUD New England
promoting this ground breaking initiative
Regional Administrator. “We congratulate
as a way to improve the quality of life for
the Housing Authority on this innovative
residents of public housing, and to ensure
partnership that makes both economic
that renewable energy can continue to
and environmental sense.”
flourish as an engine of economic growth,
Senator Patrick Leahy, a leading member
job development and opportunity.”
of the Senate Appropriations Committee
The solar arrays are expected to be comthat authorizes funding for HUD programs,
missioned and to begin generating net
said “This new collaboration between
metering solar credits in late 2016.
the Barre Housing Authority and Encore
recognizes that
green building is
not only vital to
lowering our carbon footprint and
energy costs. It
also is an essential
part of building a
sustainable, inclusive community. At
the federal level,
I believe it is our
An Encore ground mount solar array project, similar to the ones to be constructed
job to recognize
for BHA. Photo courtesy of Encore Renewable Energy.
and enable these
SOLAR PV - NEW HAMPSHIRE
12 August 2016 WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG 802.439.6675
Meet Your Solar Installer:
Milhouse Enterprises
By George Harvey
Though Milhouse Enterprises, of
Belmont, New Hampshire, is now one
of the most experienced solar installers in the Northeast, it did not focus
on solar installations at the beginning.
When it was founded in 1992, Milhouse engaged in energy retrofits and
building off-grid, net-zero homes, to
be heated by geothermal heat pumps.
Today, this would be remarkable, but
in those days it was almost unheard of.
Chris Milner of Milhouse
Enterprises said, “We
were green before green
was a buzzword.”
With the passing of
time, the demand for
geothermal heating
became overwhelming, as people began to
understand the benefits, causing this to be
the main focus of the
business. At the same
time, Milner understood that with
the dropping price of solar power, it
would be possible to use it to drive
the heat pumps used to heat and cool
homes, and so Milhouse expanded in
that direction.
Originally, both heat pumps and
solar power were outsourced, but in
2003, they brought geothermal inhouse, and in 2006, they did the same
for solar. The reason for this change
was largely because Milner felt that
the solar and geothermal installers
were not making things as easy for
customers as he wanted them to be, a
problem he would rectify. The easiest
way to make sure the customers have
a good experience is to take responsibility for the service.
The economic downturn in 2007
had extensive impact on housing and
the building industry. Milner’s change
of focus made his business better
prepared for this than it otherwise
might have been, and he was able
to shift Milhouse’s focus away from
construction, in favor of solar power
and geothermal heat. When construction activity had not improved by
2010, the company became devoted
entirely to alternative energy, closing the construction division. In fact,
solar installations take up so much of
Milhouse’s demand that it is now sometimes necessary to send inquiries about
geothermal installations to the competition, because there is simply not enough
time to do everything.
Milhouse’s background is important for
anyone wanting to install solar at home.
Because of its experiences with construction, Milhouse has both expertise and
equipment for that field. This means that
dealing with ground site preparation, concrete, and so on, can be
done by the company
itself, and there is no
need to bring in outside
specialists for the purpose. The upshot of this
is that a ground installation done by Milhouse
can come at the lowest
available price, and at
a cost very competitive
with a rooftop installation. This is a significant
advantage, especially for anyone who
might have reason to replace a roof in
the foreseeable future, a prospect that
can either mean replacing the roof early
or putting a solar installation off for a few
years.
Milner says his company’s ability to provide lowest-cost ground mounts is one of
a number of distinct advantages. Milhouse uses products made exclusively in
the United States for grid-tied systems. It
has the longest warranties in the market.
It uses “the most advanced and accurate
shading analysis equipment that exists,”
Milner says. “Many of our competitors
don’t have this because of the high cost.”
There is a final advantage that will
delight some Green Energy Times readers.
Milhouse offers not only grid-tied systems
and off-grid and battery-backup systems,
but do-it-yourself installation kits. Milner
says, “Most firms do not do off-grid, and
only one other offers ‘self-install,’ which
they only sell on Ebay. We assist our
self-install customers with paperwork,
process, layout and technical support.”
Milner is dedicated to spreading the
word on solar power. Since installing solar
systems is not a winter job, he travels a lot
in that time of year, teaching architects
and engineers about alternative energy.
His courses are certified by the American
Institute of Architects and state engineer-
“We assist our selfinstall customers
with paperwork,
process, layout and
technical support.”
The Milhouse Enterprises install team in front of the business’s 6.84 kW solar array. Photo courtesy of Milhouse Enterprises.
ing boards, which review courses to make
sure they are up-to-date and accurate,
so professionals can get credits for their
licenses by attending them. The courses,
given in many places across the United
States, are six to seven hours long.
Milner says, “Our goal has always been
to be the best at what we do by offering
our customers the best experience,
quality, customer service, and craftsmanship they can get for a lower price
than others can offer, thereby making
us the leader in our industry.”
The number for Milhouse Enterprises
is 603-300-2943. The web site is www.
milhouseenterprises.com.
SOLAR PV - NEW HAMPSHIRE
SNOW DRAGON mountain
SNOW DRAGON
WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG
BUILDERS
SOLAR
802.439.6675 August 2016 13
Durham, NH Nearing 100% Solar
By Green Energy Times Staff
ALBERT DUCHARME
Whole Systems for Solar Living

Green Building / Ecological Design: from floor plans to building materials, we design & build a complete package with sustainable & renewable systems & materials. Our homes minimizes the concept of waste.
We rely on natural, environmental energy flows. Our designs, are sustained by perpetual solar income. We incorporate this energy efficiently
and safely creating carbon free living.

Green Building Construction: Net Zero / Carbon Free

PV - Photovoltaic / Solar: systems that generate electricity

Solar Thermal: systems that heat hot water

Whole House Solar Heat:
Working in Harmony with the Power of the
Earth, Wind and Sun
www.snowdragonsolar.com
603-630-3003 Meredith, N.H.
Oyster River Forest 651kW Municipal Solar Array in Durham, NH. Photo from Revision Energy
On Thursday, July 21, the town of
Durham, N. H., had a ribbon cutting ceremony to inaugurate its municipal solar
array in the adjacent town of Lee. Their
solar system, the Oyster River Forest Solar
Array, is rated at 651-kilowatts.
The new solar array is the largest
project to date for the installer, ReVision
Energy, which has offices in Maine, New
Hampshire, and Massachusetts. ReVision
Energy did the engineering, designed,
and installed the system, and will continue to provide any necessary maintenance.
It was financed and is owned by IGS Solar,
a turn-key commercial and residential
solar provider.
The Town of Durham owns the site
where the array was erected. At one time
it had a gravel pit. It has a water well and
an aquifer recharge system, in addition
to the solar system. It is not a site that has
many other available uses.
The new solar array was designed to
generate 100% of Durham’s municipal
electric load, aside from a waste-water
treatment facility. It should produce
excess power, and this will be credited to
the Oyster River Cooperative School District to cover part of its electricity costs.
Charles Forcey, the chairman of the
Durham Energy Committee, said at the
ceremony, “The Oyster River Forest Solar
Array is an unprecedented collaboration
between two municipalities, two pioneering, private solar companies, a cooperative school district and the Public Utilities
Commission of New Hampshire. With
immense gratitude toward its partners
in this utility-scale effort, the Town of
Durham celebrates this landmark achieveCont’d on p.14
14 August 2016 WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG 802.439.6675
NH Community Solarizing Program Updates
By Michelle Harrison
Green Energy Times has covered m
any of the community solar programs
throughout New Hampshire. The progress
of the programs is given below. These
programs have really been successful!
Solar Up New Hampshire
The Solar Up NH program is being led
by the Southern New Hampshire Planning Commission (SNHPC). The SNHPC is
working with SmartPower to bring round
three of the solarize program to southern
New Hampshire.
Seven communities in the SNHPC Region participated in rounds one and two
last year and the solarize campaigns held
in these communities generated a total of
1.35 MWs of new renewable solar energy
through solar installations at 91 homes
and three businesses in the region.
Three communities, the towns of Francestown, New Boston and Weare will be
participating in round three of Solar Up
NH, which began on June 27 and runs for
16 weeks to October 15, 2016. Milhouse
Enterprises located in Belmont, NH and
Granite State Solar located in Boscawen,
NH, were selected installers for the Solar
Up NH round three summer campaigns.
The primary goal of Solar Up NH is
to lower the cost of solar pv through
discount pricing contracts and to double
the number of solar PV installations for
homeowners and businesses in each
participating community.
To learn more and to sign up for more
information and a free site visit, go to the
Solar Up NH website at: www.solarupnh.
com.
Wolfeboro Solarize Campaign
The Wolfeboro Solarize Campaign is being led by the Wolfeboro Energy Committee. The committee’s goal was to double
the kW of solar that had been previously
installed in town, which was approximately 75 kW. To date, the campaign
has generated 125kW of new solar in the
region.
Frase Electric, of Sandwich, NH, was
selected to be the partner installer. In
support of this program, Frase Electric has
committed to donate five cents to a town
project for every watt. This money was
used to remove and reinstall a PV array at
one of the buildings at the sewer department. This was a way for the whole town
to get a small benefit from the installations, not just the residents who installed
an array.
For more information, please visit
http://www.solarizewolfeboro.org/
Solarize Ammonoosuc
The Solarize Ammonoosuc campaign
was spearheaded by the Ammonoosuc
Regional Energy Team. The goal of the
campaign is to increase the number of
local homes and businesses powered by
solar PV. It is estimated that the campaign
increased the amount of residential solar
PV by over 100%.
O’Meara Solar is the chosen installer.
To date, 14 installs totaling 73.6 kW are
completed, and there are several more to
do, and more coming in every day. The
final numbers will be over 120kW. Other
area installers have been putting systems
SOLAR PV - NEW HAMPSHIRE
A 12 kW ground-mount
array installed as part of
the Wolfeboro campaign.
Photo courtesy of Frase
Electric.
A 5.13-kW solar PV array using U.S.-made Solarworld modules was added to the home of an
Ammonoosuc Regional Energy Team member. This home was previously outfitted with a solar
hot water collector. Photo courtesy of O’Meara Solar.
in as well, as the solarize campaign has
sparked more installation opportunities.
The installations have ranged from Bath,
NH to Lancaster, NH, with most in Franconia and Sugar Hill.
For more information, visit http://
ammenergy.org/index.php/solarize-ammonoosuc/events-and-news
The Upper Valley Solarize Campaigns
have also been extremely successful, perhaps setting the stage for the ones that are
on-going at this time. We hope this trend
continues and would love to hear about
what your community is doing. Send us an
email at [email protected] or call
us directly at 802.439.6675.
Durham, NH Nearing 100% Solar
Cont’d from p.13
Free Fuel Deliveries
From the Fuel that Lasts Forever
Rebates and Tax Incentives Available Now
Choose the company with over 15 years of solar experience
and over 80 years of roofing experience.
Commercial & Residential Solar Specialists
the Melanson co, inc.
www.SolarSourceNE.com ~ 603-352-4232
ment toward our overarching goal to secure a clean, affordable and secure energy
supply for our municipal services.”
The array was commissioned in June. It
has 2,100 solar modules on fixed ground
mounts arranged in fourteen rows. So
far, it has produced about 4,000 kilowatt
hours (kWh) of electricity each day. That,
however, is summer production, when the
sun is high and the days are long. Annually, the solar array is expected to generate about 859,300 kWh. This would reduce
carbon dioxide emissions that would be
produced by burning 1,553 barrels of oil
or 75,823 gallons of gas. It is about the
amount of electricity used by 115 average
New Hampshire homes.
IGS Solar Vice President Patrick Smith
said, “We are glad to be a long-standing
sustainability partner to the Town of Durham by helping them control their energy
costs with solar.” The project also qualified
for a grant awarded by the New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission.
Electricity provided to the Town of Durham was secured through a power purchase agreement (PPA), which is often the
least expensive way for a municipality to
buy its power. Under the PPA, the power is
provided by IGS Solar, with maintenance
provided by ReVision Energy. The Town of
Durham will get nearly all of its electrical
power from the sun, at no upfront cost.
The solar system for the Town of
Durham is is the second largest yet built
in the state of New Hampshire. Steve
Hinchman, Director of Finance for the PPA
division at ReVision Energy, said, “We’re
honored to help the Town of Durham
become one of the first New Hampshire
towns to power itself with clean, renewable energy and to reduce fossil fuel use
on a large scale.”
Oyster River Solar PV Array
Packers Falls Rd., Lee, NH
System Size:
651 kW DC; 504 kW AC
2,100 - Q-Cell 310W Modules
Inverter: 24 SMA 24,000
Racking System by RBI Solar: 14
Rows Driven Pile with Inter-row
Spacing of 17’4”.
Array: Tilted at 35º; Azimuth 180º;
Perimeter: 1,365’; Area: 110,035 s.f.
Annual Generation:
859.3 MWH; kWh/kWp: 1,320
Commissioning Date: 6/15/2016
System Owner:
IGS Energy: IGSenergy.com
System Design/Construction:
Revision Energy: ReVisionEnergy.com
Solar Energy Offtaker:
Town of Durham: ci.durham.nh.us
SOLAR PV - NEW HAMPSHIRE
WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG
802.439.6675 August 2016 15
A Do-It Yourself Ground Mount Solar Installation
By Michelle Harrison
Top left: Owner-installed, twenty-eight panel ground
mount array in Londonderry, New Hampshire. Inset: Bruce Harrison working with an employee of
Milhouse Enterprises. Below: the kids enjoying the
shade under the array during the recent heat wave. All photos courtesy of the Harrison Family.
Are you looking to go solar but want
a better payback period? Are you good
with hand tools? Are you willing to invest
some sweat equity into your project? If
you answered yes to these questions, you
should consider a solar ground-mount
self-installation and save a few thousand
dollars.
The first step is to find a solar installer
who is willing to sell you a do-it-yourself
installation kit. The installer will help
with the selection and purchase of the
hardware and help locate a good spot
for the array. The location must have no
more than 20% shading to ensure you are
eligible for the government rebates. New
Hampshire requires a shading analysis as
part of the rebate application. Your solar
installer will be able to provide this.
The next item to research is the property assessment laws of your state or
local government, as applicable. Some
cities and towns treat renewable energy
projects as an increase of your property
value. Some treat it as a tax-neutral event.
Some states have relevant state laws.
Do not be afraid to challenge your local
government to request a policy change,
citing examples of the many towns out
there that process renewable projects as a
tax-neutral event. You can find this information on your state’s website. You will be
happy you took the effort to do so.
Once you get your hardware quote,
research the cost of panels and inverters.
Installers may tend to favor certain products. These may or may not be to your
liking depending on factors that are im-
portant to you such as product efficiency,
place of manufacture, delivery charges,
etc. Solar installers most likely can offer
better product pricing due to quantity
discount purchases, but it cannot hurt to
do some research on your own.
One thing that was initially surprising
is the size of the footprint needed for the
ground-mount. If you have the opportunity to visit a solar array of similar size, do
so. This provides a great visual to understand how to locate your array, and if a
ground-mount is for you. While considering the design, allocate space if you think
you may expand the array at a later time.
Once you have things in motion with
the solar contractor, visit your town or city
hall and get the required permits. If you
plan on tying into the grid, contact your
utility company and get your connection
agreement approved. The solar contractor will then map out the position for the
poles for the rack. This is when the fun
begins. Give yourself time to dig holes.
If you live in the Granite State, you are
guaranteed to find plenty of rocks that
will slow your progress. If you don’t, try
your luck in the lottery!
Setting up the ground-mount poles
is next. This is a critical step and takes
patience. Your level will be your friend.
The proper set-up of the rack is important
to achieving the desired array angle and
level of your panels to achieve maximum
solar exposure.
Installation of the microinverters and
panels is next. It is important to get the
first, lower row of panels on properly as
the other panels sit on top. If the first row
is not even, the rest of the array will follow
suit. If you need help installing the panels,
check out the
many community
solar- raising groups
available to help.
The next step is to
plug all the inverters to the panels
and the inverters to
the trunk cable. The
number of trunk
cables you have depends on the size of
your array. The final
step is to run the
electrical connection from the solar
array to the breaker
box. Do not try
this if you are not
qualified to do so; it
is best for someone
familiar with the
electrical codes to do this work. Your solar
contractor can help.
Congratulations, your solar array is
now complete! Time now to get the city
or town to complete its inspection. If
you are tying back to the grid, complete
the appropriate paperwork, including
a copy of the approved inspection, to
your utility company. This will initiate a
meter change-out to one that can run
backwards. A huge smile will go on your
face when you see the utility company
drive up to change your meter. Now you
can turn on your breakers and run your
solar array. You will get lots of satisfaction
watching your meter run backwards!
If your location offers Renewable Energy Credits, make sure to sign up for that
program. Through the course of the year,
you should receive a few hundred dollars
back.
We hope these pointers help you in
your solar decision and saving some money. Do your homework, but do not delay.
Start your solar project while rebates are
still attractive.
Michelle and Bruce Harrison installed
an 8.4 kW system with SolarWorld solar
panels and Enphase microinverters on
an Iron Ridge racking system with the
assistance of Milhouse Enterprises. It is
expected to produce 10.15kWh annually
and have a nine-year payback period. It
will offset the Harrison family’s carbon
footprint by an estimated 30 tons of CO2
equivalent per year.
Michelle Harrison has worked with Green
Energy Times since 2013 and is currently the
Coordinating Director and Marketing Team
Leader.
16 August 2016 WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG
FEDERAL
FEDERAL INVESTMENT
TAX CREDIT
The federal investment tax credit (ITC)
for most technologies, including solar,
wind, heat pumps, and fuel cells, is 30% of
expenditures. For commercial geothermal
generating systems, microturbines, and
combined heat and power the ITC is 10%
of expenditures.
USDA RURAL
DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM
USDA Rural Development Program - Rural
Energy for America (REAP)
Finance the purchase of renewable energy systems, and make energy
improvements; energy audits. Funding
is awarded on a competitive basis; grant
funding cannot exceed 25% of eligible
project costs and combined loan guarantees and grants cannot exceed 75% of eligible project costs.
Applicants include Feasibility studies/
regular REAPs: agricultural producers
and rural small businesses. Energy audits
and renewable energy development
assistance: local governments, tribes, land
grant colleges, rural electric coops, public
power entities. Grant must be used for
Construction or improvements, purchase
and installation of equipment, energy
audits, permit fees, professional service
fees, business plans, and/or feasibility
studies. Find more at www.rurdev.usda.
gov/NH-VTHome.html or call 802-8286080 in VT or 603-223-6035 in NH
BIOREFINERY ASSISTANCE
PROGRAM
USDA Rural Development offers opportunities to producers to develop biofuels
through the Biorefinery Assistance Program. The program provides loan guarantees for the development, construction,
and retrofitting of commercial-scale biorefineries.
The Biorefinery Assistance Program was
established to assist in the development
of new and emerging technologies for the
development of advanced biofuels and
aims to accomplish the following:
• Increase the energy independence of
the United States
• Promote resource conservation, public
health, and the environment
• Diversify markets for agricultural and
forestry products and agricultural waste
materials
• Create jobs and enhance economic
development in rural America
For more information go to
www.rurdev.usda.gov/BCP_Biorefinery
REGIONAL
NEW ENGLAND GRASSROOTS
ENVIRONMENTAL FUND
MODEST GRANTS ARE AVAILABLE FOR
COMMUNITY-BASED ENVIRONMENTAL
WORK IN CT,MA,RI,NH,VT,ME
• Must be volunteer driven or have up to 2
full time paid staff or equiv.
• have an annual budget up to $100,000
• “Seed” grants of $250-$1,000 and “Grow”
grants of $1,000-$3,500
• Go to www.grassrootsfund.org/grants/
or call 802-223-4622 for more info.
802.439.6675
UP TO DATE INCENTIVE INFO: WWW.DSIREUSA.ORG
VERMONT
CLEAN ENERGY
DEVELOPMENT FUND
The Small Scale RE Incentive Program,
administered by Renewable Energy
Resource Center (RERC), provides funds to
help defray the costs of new solar thermal
and advanced wood pellet heating systems.
For more information: www.RERC-vt.org or
call (877)888-7372
SOLAR THERMAL INCENTIVES – PER
RATED CAPACITY OF SYSTEM
• $0.40 per kWh/year for residential and
commercial customers
• $0.80 per kWh/year for Special Category
customers
**special customer category limited to municipalities,
non-profit housing authorities, public schools., and
non-profit hospitals and health care centers. All incentives are subject to availability and may change.
Pellet Heating
• Advanced wood pellet heating systems -$2500 per boiler (+$500 if an audit is completed and +$500 if the system includes at
least 20 days’ worth of pellet storage).
• Details at www.RERC-vt.org
or call (877)888-7372
VT TAX CREDITS
Vermont offers an investment tax credit
for installations of renewable energy
equipment on business properties. The
credit is equal to 24% of the “Vermont
property portion” of the federal business
energy tax credit from 2011 to 2016.
For solar, small wind, and fuel cells this
constitutes a 7.2% state-level credit for
systems and for geothermal electric,
microturbines, and combined heat
and power systems, this constitutes
a 2.4% state-level tax credit. EFFICIENCY VERMONT
Lighting (must be ENERGY STAR®)
Discounted replacement lamp program:
• LED R/BR/PAR $11 to $17 rebate
Globe, A, Candle/Decorative $6 rebate
• LED fixtures $15 rebate
• LED task/under cabinet fixtures $8
rebate
• ENERGY STAR LEDs supported by
Efficiency Vermont through incentives can
be found for as low as $1.95
Home Efficiency Improvements
• improvements: air sealing, insulation
and heating system upgrades - up to
$2,500 in incentives - using participating*
contractors
Appliances (must be ENERGY STAR)
• Dehumidifiers - $25 mail-in rebate
• Clothes Washers - $40 rebate for CEE Tier
1 qualifying models, $75 rebate for CEE Tier
2, 3 or ENERGY STAR Most Efficient
• Refrigerators - $40 rebate for CEE Tier 1,
$75 for CEE Tier 2, 3 & ENERGY STAR Most
Efficient
• Clothes Dryers - $50 to $400 rebate on
select ENERGY STAR electric models
Heating/Cooling
• LP/Oil boilers & furnaces - $500 rebate*
• solar hot water - $950 rebate post
installation
• heat pump water heater - $400 rebate or
point of purchase discount
• central wood pellet boilers (excluding
outside wood systems) - $2,000
• circulator pumps - $50-$600 point of
purchase discount
• cold climate heat pump - $400 point of
purchase discount
Residential New Construction
• enroll in Residential New Construction
Service – up to $2,000 in incentives and free
home energy rating and expert technical
assistance throughout construction and
eligible for ENERGY STAR label
• Washington Electric Coop and Vermont
Gas Systems customers may also receive
additional incentives (contact EV*)
Other Opportunities To Save
• Advanced Power Strips – coupons at
register at participating retailers*
• Pool Pump – up to $600 rebate on
qualifying ENERGY STAR models
• Meter Loan – borrow “Watts Up” meter
to measure the electric consumption of
your appliances
. *all rebates/incentives subject to availability, limits and may change – for complete incentives and
requirements, and for participating retailers/contractors, visit efficiencyvermont.com or call 888-921-5990
NEW HAMPSHIRE
RENEWABLE ENERGY INCENTIVES
OFFERED THROUGH THE NH PUBLIC
UTILITIES COMMISSION
Commercial Solar Rebate Program
INCENTIVES
• Maximum incentive in combination with
other incentives received: Rebate in combination with other rebates or grants received
from the utility or other programs, including
other state, local or federal programs, shall
not exceed 40% of the total cost of the system (Does not include federal tax credits).
Commercial Bulk Fuel-Fed Wood
Pellet Central Heating Systems
• 40% of the heating appliance(s) and
installation cost, up to a maximum of
$65,000. An additional 30% up to a maximum $5,000 is available for thermal storage.
$5,000 is available to assist in the cost of
meters for systems that become REC eligible. Systems must be 2.5 million BTU or less
Wood Pellet Boiler or Furnace
• 40% of installed system up to $10k
• An adder of $100/ton for storage over 3
tons, up to $500 is available.
• Must meet thermal efficiency and particulate emissions standards
Contact [email protected]
www.puc.nh.gov – Sustainable Energy or
tel. 603-271-2431 for more information
and current program status
LOCAL INCENTIVES
Category 1:
≤100 kW AC incentive levels for PV systems:
• $0.70/watt (lower of AC and DC) for new
solar electric facilities (Step 1 application
received prior to September 1, 2016);
• 0.65/watt (lower of AC and DC) for new
solar electric facilities (Step 1 application
received on or after September 1, 2016);
Maximum incentive of 25% of total project
cost. Expansions to existing solar systems
are not eligible.
≤100 kW AC equivalent incentive levels
for solar thermal systems:
• $0.12/rated or modeled kBtu/year for
new solar thermal facilities fifteen collectors
in size or fewer;
• $0.07/rated or modeled kBtu/year for
new solar thermal facilities greater than fifteen collectors in size; Maximum incentive
of 25% of total project cost. Expansions to
existing solar systems are not eligible. (Does
not include federal tax credits)
Category 2:
> 100 kW AC and ≤500 kW AC incentive level
for PV systems
• $0.55/Watt AC for new electric facilities,
or 25% of total project cost or $175,000,
whichever is less. Expansions to existing
solar systems are not eligible.
Contact [email protected] or at (603) 271-6018.
PLEASE NOTE: Category 1 C&I Program is
accepting applications for a waitlist for the
funding. As of May 5, 2016, the budgeted
funding for Category 1 of the C&I Program
was fully reserved. As funding becomes
available, applications will be processed
and reviewed in the order of receipt. For
Info contact: executivedirector@puc.
nh.gov. For C&I solar program details, go
to: http://bit.ly/NHPUC-re-Rebates
Some towns provide property tax exemptions for renewables – visit www.bit.ly/
NHtownRenewablesTaxBreaks
• These are offered on a town-by-town
basis.
• The state also has passed PACE (property-assessed clean energy) enabling
legislation which will allow towns to use
the PACE mechanism to finance clean
energy projects through property taxes.
Visit http://www.nh.gov/oep/programs/
energy/pace/index.htm
for more information.
• Rebates for solar electric/10kW (or thermal equivalent) or less
• New Solar PV = $0.50/Watt DC or 30% of
total project cost, whichever is less. Max
$2500.
• Expanded Solar PV = $0.50/Watt DC or
30% of total project cost, whichever is less.
Max $2500.
Contact [email protected]
• Incentives are $500 for 50 gallon heaters
and $600 for 80 gallon heaters
Residential Solar PV Rebate Program
Residential Solar Water Heating
Rebate Program
• $1500 - $1900 per system based on
annual system output
RENEWABLE ENERGY
INCENTIVES OFFERED
THROUGH THE NH
ELECTRIC CO-OP
PLEASE Check for UPDATEs With NHEC/
Pre-Approval Is Required
Commercial Solar Thermal (Hot Water)
• Incentives are capped at the lesser of
25% of the system cost or $10,000
Commercial Solar PV
• Incentives are $0.25 per DC watt up to
the lesser of 15% of the installed cost or
$10,000
Commercial Fossil Fuel Program
• Incentives re 35% of the project cost up
to $15,000
Commercial Heat Pump Water Heaters
• Incentives are $500 for 50 gallon heaters
and $600 for 80 gallon heaters
Commercial Mini Split Heat Pumps
• Incentives are up to $500 per ton
Residential Heat Pump Water Heaters
Residential Solar PV
• incentives are $0.25 per DC watt up to
$1,375
Residential Solar Hot Water
• incentives are 20% of the project cost up
to $750
Residential Heat Pumps
• Incentives are up to $500 per ton
While we at Green Energy Times try to keep things up to date, incentives are always changing. Be sure to check with the appropriate sources for the latest information.
INCENTIVES
PAREI
To explore the possibility of a solar installation. Plymouth Area Renewable Energy Initiative. www.plymouthenergy.org
• WWW.NHSAVES.COM
• WWW. NHEC.COM
NH HOME PERFORMANCE
WITH ENERGY STAR
Sponsored by all NH electric and natural
gas utilities in partnership by the U.S. Dept.
of Energy. Fuel-blind eligibility using the
Home Heating Index (BTUs of heating fuel
/ conditioned square feet / heating degree
days). Must provide at least 12 months of
heating fuel history. Once qualified, eligible homes get a $450 value comprehensive energy audit for $100 (rebated if
improvements installed), and 50% instant
rebate for eligible weatherization improvements up to a $4,000.
Visit www.nhsaves.com/residential/retrofit.html for more information and an
online Home Heating Index calculator
NH ENERGY STAR HOMES
Incentives for builders of new homes who
meet ENERGY STAR guidelines. Incentives
include HERS rating fee paid by the utility,
rebates for ENERGY STAR lighting, appliances and heating systems, and $800 $4,000 additional incentive depending on
the HERS score.
Visit www.nhsaves.com/residential/
homes.html for more details.
NH ENERGY STAR
APPLIANCES & LIGHTING
Mail-in rebates for ENERGY STAR-rated
clothes washers ($30), room air conditioners ($20), room air purifiers ($15) and smart
strips ($10).
Visit www.nhsaves.com/residential/es_
appliance.html for more information
and rebate forms.
UP TO DATE INCENTIVE INFO: WWW.DSIREUSA.ORG
OTHER NH ELECTRIC
UTILITY PROGRAMS
See also individual utilities for additional
programs and variations. NH electric utilities may offer low or no interest on-bill
financing for energy efficiency projects.
Visit www.nhsaves.com/resource/ for
individual utility contact information.
Business Programs
Includes programs for: small and large business, new equipment and construction,
seminars, lighting incentives and catalog,
and low and no interest financing programs.
Visit www.nhsaves.com/ for information about NH business incentives for
electricity efficiency.
NH Weatherization Assistance
Income-Eligible Programs
Home Energy Assistance and NH community action Weatherization Assistance Program. Financial assistance paying fuel bills,
and free weatherization improvements
for qualified applicants. Funding from U.S.
Dept. of Energy, NH utilities.
Visit www.nh.gov/oep/programs weatherization/index.htm for application criteria,
FAQs and local program contacts
MASSACHUSETTS
COMMONWEALTH
SOLAR HOT WATER
(SHW) PROGRAMS
Applicants must be served by National
Grid, Unitil (Fitchburg Gas and Electric),
Eversource or a participating Municipal
Light Plant community. Homeowners are eligible for a base rebate
amount of the lesser of $4,500 or 40% of
the installed cost. The system may also
be eligible to receive additional funding
(“adders”) which increase the amount of
the rebate. Adders are detailed in the program manual at http://files.masscec.com/
get-clean-energy/residential/commonwealth-solar-hot-water/SHW_Program_
Manual_Small_Scale.pdf
Instant rebate coupons ranging from $1
to $7 for ENERGY STAR-rated CFL and LED
light bulbs purchased through qualifying
NH retailers.
Visit http://www.masscec.com/programs/commonwealth-solar-hot-water
Visit www.nhsaves.com/residential/
es_lighting.html for more information.
Through this loan program, customers may
borrow at 0% interest the costs of a Solar
Domestic Hot Water and/or Thermal Heating
system. Apply through receiving the MassSave
Energy Audit. You can borrow up to $25,000 at
0% interest for a 7 year term.
Energy Efficiency
After conducting a free residential Energy
Audit, residential customers are eligible for up
to $25,000, commercial loan up to $100k at 0%
interest heat loan with terms up to 7 years to
cover the following energy efficiency improvements: atticwall-basement insulation, high
efficiency heating systems, high efficiency
domestic hot water systems, solar hot water
systems, 7-day digital programmable thermostats, Energy Star replacement windows Available only to utility customers of W. Mass
Electric, National Grid, Berkshire Gas, Nstar,
Unitil and Cape Light Compact Visit www.masssave.com/residential/heatingand-cooling/offers/heat-loan-program. Call 866527-7283 for a free home energy assessment.
NHSAVES LIGHTING AND
EFFICIENCY CATALOG
Extensive catalog of efficient lighting products, from stylish lamps to hard to find
specialty bulbs. Catalog includes other efficiency items such as smart strips, power
monitors, and water-conserving devices
Offered at discounted pricing for NH electric utility customers, and fulfilled by EFI.
Visit catalog.nhsaves.com/ for an
online version of the catalog.
2014 ENERGY STAR®
RESIDENTIAL HEATING,
COOLING, & WATER HEATING
EQUIPMENT REBATE
Rebates of up to $1,500 on high efficiency
Furnaces and Boilers, $200-$500 rebates on
Mini Split Heat Pumps, up to $800 rebates
on water heaters, rebates on programmable and Wi-Fi thermostats
Program details and application at www.
NHSaves.com/heatingcooling
MASSSAVE HEAT LOAN SHW
ENERGY EFFICIENCY
After conducting a free residential Energy
Audit, residential customers are eligible for up
to $25,000, commercial loan up to $100k at 0%
interest heat loan with terms up to 7 years to
cover the following energy efficiency improvements: atticwall-basement insulation, high
WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG 802.439.6675 August 2016 17
NEW YORK
efficiency heating systems, high efficiency
domestic hot water systems, solar hot water
systems, 7-day digital programmable thermostats, Energy Star replacement windows
Available only to utility customers of W.
Mass Electric, National Grid, Berkshire Gas,
Nstar, Unitil and Cape Light Compact
Visit www.masssave.com/residential/heating-and-cooling/offers/heat-loan-program
Please call 866-527-7283 to schedule a free
home energy assessment.
Welcome to the 2016 New York solar
incentive and rebate information:
https://solarpowerrocks.com/new-york/
MASSACHUSETTS SOLAR
LOAN PROGRAM
New York State Energy Research
and Development Authority.
Mass Solar Loan focuses on connecting
homeowners who install solar pv systems with
low-interest loans to help finance the projects.
The $30 million program, a partnership
between the Massachusetts Department of
Energy Resources (DOER) and MassCEC, will
work with local banks and credit unions to
provide financing to homeowners interested
in solar electricity. DOER’s program design will
work with banks and credit unions to expand
borrowing options through lower interest rate
loans and encourage loans for homeowners
with lower income or lower credit scores. Since 2008, the solar electric industry
in Massachusetts has grown into a robust
economic sector with over 1,400 businesses and
12,000 workers, with enough solar electricity
installed in the Commonwealth to power more
than 100,000 homes.
Mass Solar Loan will continue to grow this
sector, while allowing more homeowners
the ability to achieve the cost savings and
environmental benefits of this clean, renewable
energy source. www.masssolarloan.com.The
most updated loan principal buy down rate
based on household income ican be found
at www.masssolarloan.com/loan-supportincentives.
DEPT OF ENERGY RESOURCES
Solar renewable-energy credits (SRECs) associated with system generation belong to
the system owner and may be sold via the
Department of Energy Resources (DOER)
SREC program. Note: appropriate, approved
Data Acquisition System monitoring must
be utilized for PV systems >10kW in order to
qualify to sell SRECs.
MA State Income tax credit for residential
solar hot water or PV systems are eligible for
a one time 15% off system cost, capped at
$1000 max tax credit. No sales tax on residential solar hot water
or PV system.
No sales tax on residential solar hw or pv
systems.
There is no increase in property tax
assessment for residential hw or pv systems
for 20 yrs.
NEW MA SREC POLICY
Massachusetts’ new version of its Solar
Renewable Energy Credits Program is informally being called SREC II.
SREC II prioritizes sites, however, by using
an SREC factor based on the type of installation. The credits provided for energy
produced by a system are calculated by multiplying the factor times a full credit value.
Full credit is given for residential, parking
canopy, emergency power, or communitybased systems, or any other system of less
than 25 kW. Larger systems get a factor of
0.9, if they are building-mounted or at least
67% of the power produced is used at the
site. If a larger system meets neither of these
criteria, but is built on a landfill or brownfield site, or if it is less than 650 kW, then it
gets a factor of 0.8. Systems that qualify for
none of the foregoing get a factor of 0.7.
http://bit.ly/Mass_SREC_II.
MA State Incentives can be found at:
www.masscec.com/get-clean-energy
RENEWABLE ENERGY INCENTIVES
OFFERED THROUGH
• Business & Industry
• Communities & Governments
• Partners & Investors
• Cleantech & Innovation
• Residents& Homeowners
DISCOVER YOUR HOME’S
ENERGY WASTE
Getting a home energy assessment
can help you take control of your energy
costs. It can identify where your house
is using the most energy and which
improvements would have the biggest
impact on your bottom line. Heating and
cooling costs frequently account for 50%
of residential energy bills. Identifying your
energy waste can lead to big savings.
Visit: nyserda.energysavvy.com to get
an energy assessment
RENEWABLE ENERGY INCENTIVES
OFFERED THROUGH NY-SUN
http://ny-sun.ny.gov/
NY-Sun is structured around customized Megawatt (MW) Blocks targeted
to specific regions of the state. To learn
more, see the Megawatt Block Incentive
Structure.
Residential and Small Business
http://ny-sun.ny.gov/Get-Solar/Residents-And-Small-Business
Commercial and Industrial
• http://ny-sun.ny.gov/Get-Solar/Commercial-and-Industrial
Community Solar
• http://ny-sun.ny.gov/Get-Solar/Community-Solar
Find a Commercial/Industrial
Solar Installer
• http://ny-sun.ny.gov/For-Local-Government/Local-Government
Find a Residential/Small Commercial Solar Installer
• http://ny-sun.ny.gov/Get-Solar/Find-ASolar-Electric-Installer
Financing Options
• http://ny-sun.ny.gov/Get-Solar/NYSun-Financing
Clean Power Estimator
• http://ny-sun.ny.gov/Get-Solar/CleanPower-Estimator
NY-Sun is structured around custom-
ized Megawatt (MW) Blocks targeted
to specific regions of the state. To learn
more, see the Megawatt Block Incentive
Structure.
The Megawatt (MW) Block Dashboard provides real time information on
the status of block and current incentive
levels by sector and region. Block status is
updated as applications are submitted, so
click the refresh button to see the current
status.
www.powerclerk.com/nysuninitiative/
dashboard.aspx
RENEWABLE ENERGY - NY ...
Opportunities Abound to Help Schools Go Solar Independent Energy Advisors Wanted
18 August 2016 WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG
802.439.6675
cally naming hospitals
and schools as top
Putting solar panels on your
priorities.
school is a great idea, not only to
There are also nonprovide a free source of electricgovernment options
ity, but also as a real-world way
that can be utilized to
to teach students about the
bring solar to your loneed for more renewable energy
cal school district. The
options and to make the school
American Solar Energy
community part of the solution
Society (ASES) offers a
to our climate woes. School
wide array of resources
buildings are typically built with
for achieving successful
large, flat rooftops that are ideal
solar school programs
candidates for solar installations.
and for navigating isAccording to the Foundation
sues around choosing
for Environmental Education’s
a system. Their partSolar School Initiative, some
nership with The Solar
4,000 public and private school
Foundation’s BDR Fund
systems around the country
has set a goal of 20,000
have already installed solar pansolar systems installed at
els at their own expense or with The non-profit Black Rock Solar helped Rainshadow Community Charter High School in Reno,
K-12 schools by the year
funds raised through parent2020.
Nevada installed a 31 kilowatt photovoltaic array in 2010.
teacher associations, student
Another grant opporgroups, individual donors and
tunity comes from the
programs that schools can capitalize on,
foundations. Analysts estimate
American Electric Power
including the School Facility Modernizathat an additional 125,000 schools nationFoundation’s Learning from Light program,
tion Grants and Self-Generation Incentive
wide are good candidates for going solar
which has sponsored over 100 schools’
program. Several other states offer similar
and reaping the financial benefits of free
transitions to solar, starting with Bluffsview
programs.
energy. Developing renewable alternatives
Elementary in Worthington, Ohio back in
There are also many federal grant opis essential to our transition away from
1998. And the Walmart Foundation recently
portunities, primarily from the U.S. Departdirty fossil fuel sources.
pledged to fund solar conversions at 20
ment of Energy (DOE). Their Loan Programs
Grant programs vary from state to state,
schools in large cities around the country.
Office works with municipal and commerthough some can be very supportive of
A list of further programs offered by a
cial applicants to help realize their energy
municipal solar projects. In Massachusetts,
number of organizations can be found at
goals. The Office of Energy Efficiency and
for example, cities qualified as “Green
solarschools.org.
Renewable Energy shares this mission and
Communities” can apply for clean energy
For more tips, check out the National Rerecently made an investment of $19 million
grants through a state-run program. Calinewable Energy Laboratory’s report “Solar
to improve our nation’s buildings, specififornia also has a number of solar-friendly
Schools Assessment and Implementation
By John McReynolds, EarthTalk®
THE BLOCK ISLAND WIND FARM
By George Harvey
itself. Historically, the cost
of cables to the
mainland were
prohibitive, so
the island has
always depended on locally
burned fossil
fuels for electric
power. That has
meant use of
diesel generators, whose
noise and pollution were not
the only thing
to complain
about. On top of
The first turbine of the Block Island Wind Farm is installed. Photo: Deepwater Wind.
everything else,
electric power
has cost up to
Construction at the Block Island Wind
54¢ per kilowatt hour (kWh).
Farm, off the coast of Rhode Island, is nearOne major benefit of the wind farm is
ing completion. The developer, Deepwater
that since power is being sent both to the
Wind, has not yet given a date for complemainland and the island, Block Island is
tion, but the foundations are already in
now tied to the grid. Since the cost of the
place and waiting for masts. The nacelles,
submarine cable from the wind farm to the
turbines, and blades have arrived from
island will have to be paid down, the rate
Europe. Everything is set for final assembly
reduction will not be to a low level, but it
and the project is expected to be completwill go down by 40%.
ed during the summer, followed by testing
The costs of offshore wind power have
and commissioning in the fall.
been declining sharply of late. A consorThe Block Island Wind Farm is not
tium of businesses recently joined the
impressively large, by world standards. It
government of Scotland to fund research
has five turbines with a combined capacity
aimed at getting it down to $130 per megaof 30 megawatts. It will cover the needs
watt hour (MWh), or 13¢/kWh, wholesale.
of about 18,000 residents, including those
Surprisingly, the same week that was anon the island and others on the mainland.
nounced, the Danish utility DONG signed
In one sense, however, it is an undertaka contract at just over $80 per MWh. When
ing of huge importance. It will be the first
transmission costs are added to that cost,
offshore wind farm in the United States.
the price was still less than $100/MWh.
The wind farm will be of even greater
There are more installations under way,
importance to the residents of Block Island
though all are in pre-construction stages.
Deepwater Wind has made progress getting permits for the 90-MW Deepwater One
South Fork, thirty miles east of Montauk,
New York. The Lake Erie Energy Development Corporation, or LEED-CO, says it will
have completed Ohio’s first offshore wind
farm, six turbines off the coast of Cleveland,
by the end of 2018. With the decline in
prices for wind power, we will doubtless
see more coming.
Massachusetts is mandating up to 1600
MW in a law passed in early August. Denmark’s DONG Energy is already interested
in developing an offshore wind farm of up
to 1000 megawatts in the waters off the
coast of Massachusetts.
This is a totally new kind of company!
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www.JoinTheCrew.com/Today.
Project: Financing Options for Solar Installations on K–12 Schools,” which explains
the myriad ways to finance and own solar
installations at schools—including how to
choose a location to maximize benefits.
Links: Loan Programs Office: energy.
gov/lpo/loan-programs-office; American
Solar Energy Society (ASES): www.ases.
org/; American Electric Power Foundation:
www.aep.com/; National Renewable Energy
Laboratory: www.nrel.gov/
EarthTalk® is a registered trademark of
Earth Action Network Inc. www.earthtalk.org.
BUSINESS & FINANCIAL
WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG
Too Big to Fail - Too Big to Save
For those who are interested, two
books that describe economic bubbles
are Extraordinary Popular Delusions and
the Madness of Crowds, by Charles MacKay
(Richard Bentley, London, in 1841, currently in print from various publishers
and at Project Gutenberg, gutenberg.
org/ebooks/24518), and The Big Short, by
Michael Lewis (W. W. Norton & Company,
New York, March 15, 2010). The Big Short
was also produced in a somewhat fictionalized form as a movie.
We do not have to go out and buy a
DVD or a book to see a bubble first hand,
however. We are living in one. It is called
the carbon bubble (en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/Carbon_bubble). It is much bigger
than the housing bubble that was the
subject of The Big
Short. The housing bubble only
caused household
losses in the United States of $19.2
trillion and put 8.8
million people out
of work, according to a Treasury
Department report (http://bit.ly/
treasury-housingcrisis-report).
In case you are
wondering, $19.2
trillion is about
three times the
federal budget
Image: Shutterstock
or about equal to
the national debt.
It is also just shy
of $60,000 per person in the country. It
seems hard to imagine that two people,
working at minimum wage, supporting a
family of four, could have lost even a tenth
of their $240,000 share. But what they lost
ranged from retirement fund losses to
increased taxes to cover an increase in the
national debt. It was all pretty much invisible, except to those who were trying to
sell real estate, followed the stock market,
or were out of work.
The housing bubble was small, however, compared to the losses we can foresee
in the carbon bubble. According to a report from Citigroup, if we are to deal with
climate change, the fossil fuels industry
will lose $100 trillion in stranded assets
over the next thirty-five years. (http://bit.
802.439.6675 August 2016 19
By George Harvey
ly/stranded-assets). That is the value of assets they will have to write down. It will be
reflected in the value of the shares of their
stock. It is five times the housing bubble,
though it is stretched over a longer time.
In the housing bubble, some banks
were considered too big to fail. The fossil
fuel companies are far bigger, however.
Unless they change, they are far too big
to save.
We might reflect that there is another
side of the story, however. Estimates of
external costs of fossil fuel, ranging from
crop damage to health costs, range from
$1.7 trillion to $7 trillion every year, worldwide. That is $250 to $1,000 per person.
In dealing with climate change, these
external costs will be eliminated, saving
everyone a good deal of money. In thirtyfive years, this means ordinary folks may
save more than the fossil fuels industry
loses, if they can avoid entanglement.
Another piece of good news is from the
International Renewable Energy Agency,
which estimates that increasing the
global share of renewable energy to 36%
by 2030 would increase the gross world
product by about $1.3 trillion. (http://bit.
ly/increased-gwp).
I am not a financial advisor, and am not
qualified to offer financial advice, but I am
entitled to make an observation. If the fossil fuel companies are to fail because they
insist on sticking to their ways, it behooves
us stay out of the way. They will be too big
to save, and their fall will come hard.
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Offered by Brattleboro Area Realty. Call Chris Lewis at 802-380-2088. [email protected]
Uncertainties For Net Metering in VT Cont’d from p.3
Issues with the Public Service Board’s
net metering program revisions that the
groups outlined:
1. Towns, schools, universities, and
local Vermont businesses can’t choose net
metered renewable energy to fully power
their electricity needs due to the rule’s
limits.
2. The rule infringes on Vermonters’
ability to choose their own energy future,
particularly farmers, schools, and small
businesses, and folks who don’t own
property or whose property isn’t suitable
for renewables, effectively ending community solar in Vermont. Vermont has
shown the country how to successfully
implement group net-metering and now
other states are moving forward as Vermont is moving backwards.
3. The rule completely disregards farmers’ calls for continuing their net metering
opportunities. The proposed penalizing rates effectively end the ability of Vermont farmers to host systems to keep
their farms viable.
4. In some circumstances, Vermonters choosing clean energy would actually
be penalized for also making energy effi-
ciency improvements or adopting new
technologies under the proposed rule.
The rule effectively discourages energy
efficiency and innovations to reduce peak
demand.
5. Monopoly utilities get to determine customer charges, even for existing
solar customers who personally invested
early in clean energy and set up financing based on the established cost structure, which unfairly changes the rules of
the game mid-way, and will make clean
energy more expensive for Vermonters
now and in the future.
“It would take close to a century for
Vermont to repower our grid with local renewable energy if the arbitrary yearly cap
in this rule were implemented,” explained
Campbell Andersen. “With deadly record
heatwaves, wildfires, and flooding already
ravaging communities across our country
and worldwide due to climate change,
we simply have no more time to wait to
shift from dirty fossil fuels to renewable
energy.”
The Public Service Board’s Order can be
found online at http://bit.ly/proposed-rule.
GreenHomesForSale.com
The premium venue for buying and selling green, energy-efficient,
sustainable and ecological homes, developments and land since 2004.
20 August 2016 WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG
-- Sustainable Tompkins County, NY --
Sustainability in Tompkins County
By George Harvey
Here is a simple truth. There is no conceivable way we could give all the credit
they deserve to the people working for a
sustainable future in Tompkins County, New
York.
Those who think this is an exaggeration
should go to http://bit.ly/tompkins-countyaccomplishments and take a look at what
has been achieved in 2015 alone. Forty
organizations have hundreds of achievements. One might only guess at the numbers of people involved.
Tompkins County may be most widely
known for Ithaca, its only city. It is the home
of Cornell University, Ithaca College, and
Tompkins-Cortland Community College.
The high levels of education in the county
have been beneficial to its environmental
movement.
One really interesting thing about gathering information from people of Tompkins
County is the care they take to acknowledge the contributions of others. Among
those who shine lights on the achievements
of others is Jonathan P. Comstock, a Senior
Research Specialist at Cornell University
with a doctorate in horticulture. Aside from
studying the effects of climate change on
agricultural plants, he has been very active
in Solarize Tompkins, serving as the board’s
chairman.
Comstock had a lot to say about Solarize Tompkins, a non-profit organization. It
began as a classic “solarize” movement. In
time, it changed, but in a way that seems
very positive. The program had been so
successful that it had achieved double its
original goal – but that raised a question.
Was further education on solar power really
necessary in Tompkins County, or would
it be more effective to switch attention to
something else?
“After two years of riding the solar rocket,
we decided to take on home heating,”
Comstock explained. In Tompkins County,
THE SUN IS RISING
Cont’d from p.1
derided as “intermittent” by aging proponents of a system of electric distribution
designed before the beginning of the nuclear era. The power will ultimately come
from the sun and the wind with storage
to level the load. Centralized base-load
power is being replaced by distributed
intermittent sources.
As unexpected as this is to some oldtimers, it is not a surprise to some people
who have looked past the propaganda of
renewable energy naysayers. Two German states produce 100% to 130% of the
amount of power they use from renewable
sources, giving their grid operators a lot of
experience with the issue. The official word
of one of their grid operators, 50Herz, is
that they could get up to 70% of their
power from just wind and sun without any
need of battery backup.
Indeed, in the United States, we have
seen changes underway, not just closing
down coal plants, but all other base-load
power plants as well. The city of Los Angeles made two interesting, nearly simultaneous announcements in July. One is that
it is no longer buying power from the Navajo Generating Station, a large coal-burning plant in Arizona. The other is that they
are giving up getting power from a California “peaker” plant, powered by natural gas
and replacing it with a 100 megawatt, 400
megawatt-hour battery. A central issue
for both decisions is the efficient use of
Sustainable Communities
searching and writing on what mix of solar,
microhydro, wind, geothermal, and biomass
power, along with efficiency and demand
management, would be needed to reach
that goal.
Both Comstock and Nicholson referred to
the Get Your Green Back Tompkins (GYGB).
This campaign is community-initiated and
community-supported. It helps people and
organizations move toward sustainability
for food, transportation, waste, and building energy, reducing carbon emissions,
saving money, and creating a socially just
economy.
GYGB has been helped by over a thousand volunteers and over a hundred businesses. Karim Beers, the campaign coordinator, said, “GYGB works by encouraging
people to take 13 steps for reducing their
carbon footprint, save energy, save money,
and produce jobs. It encourages key behaviors that are good for the environment,
focused on people who do not identify
as environmentalists. This is about saving
energy and money and connecting with
ideas of conservation and being frugal. It is
meant to be very inclusive reaching diverse
populations.”
GYGB started a directory of stores selling
second-hand goods and now works with
over forty of them in Tompkins County. The
director is available online at reusetompkins.com.
The Planning Coordinator for Tompkins
County is Katie Borgella. She was the one
who suggest the web site given in the second paragraph above.
The county Planning Department started
working on energy issues about sixteen
years ago, when a 147-kilowatt photovoltaic system was installed on the county
library. Now, Borgella says, “Everybody feels
a need to do as much as possible, as quickly
as possible. Everyone is worried about tipping points, coral bleaching, and the fact
that the jet stream has dipped below the
equator for the first time.”
She conveys a sense of careful urgency,
as she talks about protecting the green
infrastructure at the upper reaches of
watersheds. She says she finds it interesting to see how people are thinking and is
heartened by the mind-set, pointing to the
Energy Roadmap, which was wrapped up in
March, and the fact that it says the county
could get 80% of all its needs met locally.
A number of people mentioned Irene
Weiser, a member of the town council for
Caroline, New York. She has been very active working on banning fracking, pipelines
carrying fracked gas, and our societies
excessive use of fossil fuels. She started Fossil Fuel Free Tompkins with the hope that
the county could be the first in the state to
be so. The campaign is working on electric
vehicles and charging stations. Weiser was
mentioned more than once by other people
commenting on her courage and devotion.
And the list goes on.
money.
Mountain
The fixed
pumped
costs of
storage
operating
station was
a nuclear
built at the
power
same time
plant that is
as the Vermont Yanalready operating are
kee nuclear
reckoned at
plant, with
5¢/kWh to
its original
7¢/kWh. The
rating of
price of fuel Diablo Canyon nuclear plant. Photo: “Mike” Michael L. Baird. CC BY 2.0.
540-MW.
and variable
Other
operating
signs of
costs are
the coming
added to
of this time,
this. At the
also largely
same time,
economic,
the total
include the
cost of wind
fact that the
power,
new power
including
plants coming online in
subsidies,
this country
may come
have been
in at about
increasingly
3.5¢/kWh,
powered
and the cost
Replacing the old paradigm, sheep and solar panels are farmed together by renewable
of fuel is
at one of the largest solar farms in Europe. Photo: WIkimedia Commons.
power. This is
fixed at
not because of
zero.
the Clean Power Plan; it started before that
A proponent of base-load power might
plan was announced. The coming of this
point out that wind power requires
time can be seen in the decline of costs of
backup, but in truth, base-load power does
solar and wind power, which has been ontoo, on a constant basis. That is why we
going for decades. And at the same time
have expensive peaking plants all over the
those costs were decreasing, the costs of
country. It is why the 1080-MW Northfield
base-load power plants have only been
going up. Though renewable power was
once costly, sooner or later, its costs had to
fall below those of base-load plants. And
that is what is happening.
Critics of the Diablo Canyon shutdown
have decried the cost of going to solar and
wind with backup, which is estimated at
$15 billion. What they need to address is
that PG&E calculates that this cost is well
below the cost of keeping an aging nuclear
plant open.
ExxonMobil, squeezed by the passing of
its age
Another thing that surprised many
people recently was that ExxonMobil
has not only declared itself in favor of a
carbon tax but is advocating its position
by lobbying other oil giants. Though the
initial response of some environmentalists
bordered on being giddy, it is well to take a
look at the facts.
This is not the first time ExxonMobil has
stated a position in favor of a carbon tax.
That started in 2009. Stepping up action
on the position might be philanthropic
but given statements by Rex Tillerson, the
company’s CEO, we might easily come to
the conclusion that support of a carbon tax
came about for more pragmatic reasons.
Tillerson proclaimed at this year’s stockholder meeting that the company would
not have any stranded assets. Given that
Citigroup has taken the position that the
fossil fuel industry would lose about $100
trillion in stranded assets,
an amount about five times Cont’d on p.21
heating produces about 75% of the carbon
emissions associated with homes. So Solarize Tompkins started a new campaign, HeatSmart Tompkins, to organize energy audits,
insulating, air sealing, help with evaluating
options, and installation of heat pumps.
Nicholson is also a member of the Tompkins County Planning Advisory Board and
its Energy Road Map Steering Committee. In
2008, Tompkins County was the first to add
an energy element to a county comprehensive plan in support of its goal of reducing
fossil carbon emissions 80% by 2050. The
Steering Committee then developed an
energy roadmap for the county, a project
that took several years, with students re-
Lake Cayuga, in Tompkins County, seen from the Cornel University campus. Wikimedia Commons.
Another person deeply involved with sustainability in Tompkins County is Gay Nicholson. Gay has a doctorate in sustainable
agriculture but spent most of her career
working on land conservation, environmental ethics, and global warming. In 2004, she
co-founded Sustainable Tompkins, which is
the oldest sustainability organization in the
area. Their programming has helped grow
the local movement, and they are often the
first to convene community conversations
on climate and energy, greening the economy, and sustainable development. Their
Finger Lakes Climate Fund collects carbon
offset dollars to provide grants for energy
efficiency improvements in lower-income
households. So far, they have provided over
$33,000 in 18 grants to help offset 1736
tons of carbon dioxide emissions.
Whats Happening?
The Sun IS Rising Cont’d from p.20
the United States’ national debt, or about
1.3 times the gross world product, this
came as a surprise. ExxonMobil, however,
has told its stockholders that it is taking
the baselines provided by the Energy Information Administration (which historically
has been grossly wrong, 100% of the time)
as a predictive tool.
We might also note that ExxonMobil is
being brought to court by the attorneys
general of a number of states over allegations that they discovered climate change
was happening over forty years ago, then
systematically tried to persuade people it
was not happening while they
“The clean energy
prepared to be
train has left the
ready to drill in the
station, folks,” said
best spots in the
EPA Administrator
Arctic when the
Gina McCarthy.
permafrost melted.
The combination
produces an appearance of ongoing fraud.
ExxonMobil clearly wants to distance
itself from misdeeds that may have been
committed thirty or forty years ago and
wants to point to a more truthful present.
It also would doubtless like to be able to
take an active part in determining how
a carbon tax is formulated. Perhaps, like
Entergy, the company will begin to experiment with solar and wind power.
One way or the other, we look forward,
without anticipation of any outflow of
goodness, to seeing how the oil industry in
general reacts to any possible carbon tax.
The age of centralized, fossilized power
is rapidly drawing to an end, and that of
decentralized, renewable power is emerging. Considering the damage done by fossil
fuels to our health, our finances, and our
environment, the change is coming none
too soon.
-- Feature Section --
Fourth Annual
WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG August 2016
NATIONAL BIOENERGY DAY
October 19, 2016
is designated as
National Bioenergy
Day. This day is
a celebration of
bioenergy that
highlights its
environmental and
economic benefits
on the local, state
and national levels. It’s sponsored by
the Biomass Power Association, Biomass
Magazine, the U.S. Industrial Pellet Association, the Biomass Thermal Energy
Council, the Hearth, Patio and Barbecue
Association, and Pellet Fuels Institute,
Drax and Enviva. The mission is to educate
more people - media, elected officials,
and communities - about the benefits of
bioenergy as a critical renewable energy
source along with the many solutions it
presents, like using materials with very
little to no value that would otherwise be
discarded.
National Bioenergy Day began in
2013. Over the last four years, the day
has grown to not only represent biomass
power but also district heating, residential
pellet heating, biofuels, gasification, and
other bioenergy applications. Participation has expanded to include organizations outside of bioenergy such as universities and state and local governments.
The first year had 25 participants holding
events across the country. Last year, there
were 60 participants. Crucially, the U.S.
21
heat and electricity. Thousands of homes
and businesses have installed stoves and
other appliances powered by wood pellets, reducing their heating costs. Working
farms and other businesses with organic
waste products recycle their “leftovers” to
power or heat their facilities. Bioenergy
produces about 2.5% of the nation’s total
energy and is responsible for sustaining
tens of thousands of jobs, many of them
in rural communities where they are most
needed.
For more information about National
Bioenergy Day events being held in your
region, visit www.bioenergyday.org. Anyone
interested in participating in this day can
register on the site or contact Carrie Annand,
VP of External Affairs for Biomass Power
Association, at [email protected].
Forest Service
began supporting
the event in 2014
and continues to
sponsor Bioenergy
Day. They provide
funding that helps
tell the stories of
bioenergy, which
can vary dramatically from region to region. Last year, there were events in Vermont,
Maine, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Georgia, Louisiana,
California, Arizona,
Oregon, Washington,
Minnesota, Michigan,
North Carolina, Iowa,
and Mississippi. So, what exactly is
bioenergy? Bioenergy
is the use of any organic material, such as forest thinnings, residues,
agricultural waste or
urban wood waste, to
generate heating, cooling or electricity. Many
independent power
producers generate
electricity for the grid
using bioenergy. Hospitals, college campuses, school districts and
government buildings
GE’s Jenbacher gas engine can run on biogas. Wikimedia Commons
also use bioenergy for
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RENEWABLE ENERGY
22 August 2016 WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG 802.439.6675
Geothermal Heat Pumps – More than a Niche
By John P. DiEnna, Jr.
pump), can support a stronger
grid, reduce peak
load problems,
lower emissions and
provide their users
more manageable
energy bills.
In New York State,
Governor Cuomo’s
Clean Energy Plan
recognizes the
geothermal ground
loops as a renewable thermal asset,
making the technology fit very well
with New York’s
Residential geothermal example. Photo courtesy of Bosch Thermotechnology.
Reforming the
Energy Vision initiative. GHPs are currently being considered
Geothermal heat pumps (GHPs) use the
by investor-owned utilities as resources in
Earth’s thermal properties, (the energy
their distributed service implementation
under our feet) to provide heating and
plans. GHPs can provide a “behind the
cooling for buildings, along with water
meter,” non-wires alternative that can help
heating. It has had more interest by governments, utilities, developers, and users
stave off traditional capital expenditures,
in recent years than in the previous forty.
such as substation upgrades.
The Environmental Protection Agency says
GHP technology has been used to
the technology can reduce greenhouse
advantage in other states. Western Farmers Electric Cooperative, in Oklahoma and
gas emission by up to 40% over conventional HVAC systems. It is a far more
New Mexico, developed a geothermal
effective way to use electricity than even
heat pump program that has seen the
air-source heat pumps. It can also reduce
peak demand for HVAC in participating
our dependence on fossil fuels, save water,
homes drop by 38%, or a reduction of
and provide local jobs.
0.55 kilowatts (kW) per ton of installed
Governments are recognizing that this
capacity.
technology, which combines a renewSchools across the country have tapped
able thermal asset (the ground loop) and
into the energy they already own to deliver a comfortable learning environment
an energy-efficiency product (the heat
for their students while reducing their
energy bills. Don Penn of Image Engineering has installed geothermal heat pumps
in over 250 schools in Texas. Alderson
Engineering, in Philadelphia, has designed
numerous schools in Pennsylvania and
New Jersey.
American Water, one of the largest
private water companies in the U.S., in
strategic partnership with Bosch has developed a state of the art geothermal pilot
project in an elementary school built circa
1957, using their water as the medium for
the geothermal heat pumps. This system
is delivering year-round comfort and has
enabled the school to use their facility
through the summer. The GHP system has
reduced their overall energy use by 30,000
BTUs per square foot.
We now recognize the water saving
capability of GHP technology. A study on
a 150-room hotel in Florida compared
geothermal heat pumps with a water
cooled chiller, and the
Cont’d on p. 23
GREEN MOUNTAIN GEOTHERMAL, LLC
(802) 684-3491 · PO Box 222 · West. Danville, Vt 05873 www.vermontgeo.com
ATTENTION: WELL DRILLERS, GEODESIGNERS, ENGINEERS
You are invited to participate in a Green Mountain Power Co. CEED grant to construct
a number of 5 Ton sealed no-bleed Standing Column Geothermal Supply Wells. These
wells are to be drilled in the former CVPSC territory. The purpose of these wells is to
provide an alternative to a standard Standing Column Geothermal Supply Well when any
of the following conditions occur:
• Low static – pumping penalty • Low yield – insufficient yield for a bleed.
• Poor quality ground water – may cause deposits on heat exchanger or acidity or salt
water may shorten life of pump.
• Contaminated ground water – may not return water to the well. UIC rule.
• Sediment – may plug heat exchanger or cause excessive wear.
• Bleed water – no place to recycle or dispose of bleed water.
The CEED grant will provide the following:
• $4,700 per well toward deepening a standard Standing Column Geothermal Supply
Well to provide sufficient depth for a no bleed wetted column. To seal this well
bore against incoming water and to allow the sealed no-bleed Standing Column
Well to maintain a high static.
• $1,000 per well for the well driller to develop sealing methods, to document the
work performed, and to potentially participate in reporting the work performed.
If you are interested in participating, please contact James Ashley:
Green Mountain Geothermal, LLC at 802.684.3491 or [email protected]
HEATING & COOLING
WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG
Geothermal Heat Pumps – More than a Niche
results were dramatic. The GHP system
saved 4,730,400 gallons in one year,
reduced maintenance, and eliminated
the chemicals needed for the chiller
system.
The preliminary results of a recent
study by Oak Ridge National Labs,
outlining the potential for GHPs,
showed that they could save 6.7 quads
of primary energy, if they were used in
every home and commercial building
in the country. This would save 433.3
million tons of CO2 emissions and reduce energy costs in the U.S. by $80.4
billion annually, while reducing peak
load and supporting a stronger grid.
The main barrier for increasing use
of GHPs, and some think the only barrier, is the high initial cost of systems.
The chief reason for that high first cost
is in the installation of the item that
makes this technology work, the loop
field. We now see that resistance to
this barrier is changing, as utilities, de-
Cont’d from p. 22
velopers and third party investors see the
long term value that loop field ownership
has. The loop field can have a life span of
over fifty years, making the initial investment a wise purchase.
We also need more trained installers. Although there are over 6,000 in the
country we must develop the personnel
resources to take fullest advantage of the
technology. Widespread adoption of GHP
technology could also mean the creation
or retention of over five million jobs. The
International Ground Source Heat Pump
Association has developed the training
and certifications needed to support the
growth of geothermal heat pumps.
Mr. DiEnna is the Executive Director &
Founder of the Geothermal National &
International Initiative (GEO-NII). He has
over forty years combined experience in the
electric utility industry and the renewable
energy industry and is a nationally recognized authority on geothermal heat pumps.
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Air source heat pumps require electricity; however minimizing fossil fuel costs
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802.439.6675 August 2016 23
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CLIMATE CHANGE
2424August
2016
WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG
802.439.6675
JUNE 15,
2014
WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG
802.439.6675
The Renewable Energy Future Emerges
by Roy Morrison
Whether or not Tesla’s
corporate reorganization proceeds, this is the
model for a global renewable energy company
with a comprehensive
and compatible product
line.
Elon Musk of Tesla understands that the combination of increasingly
cheaper solar panels
with rapidly developing
and affordable battery
storage makes 100% renewable energy systems
achievable globally.
Mega battery and photovoltaic factories, being
Elon Musk’s outline for a sustainable future is outstanding. Photo: Flickr.
constructed by Tesla and
others like Faraday Future
in the United States,
A global renewable energy transformaIndia, China, and Ghana,
tion is underway. The proposed merger
mean that global industrial productive
between Tesla and Solar City outlines the
might is being rapidly deployed for a
shape of things to come.
renewable energy transformation.
The integration of solar panels with
Benchmark Mineral Intelligence
battery storage and electric vehicles is
estimates that at least twelve lithium-ion
the paradigm for both ecological global
mega-factories will come online by 2020,
economic growth, and reaching the goals
seven of them in China. Sony is pushing
of the Paris Climate accord.
forward with sulfur-lithium battery develAn integrated renewable energy
opment. China passed the United States
company will combine electric vehicles,
in yearly production of electric vehicles
battery storage, and solar electric panels,
by the start of 2016, producing 250,000 a
all with rapidly expanding market share
year, compared to 180,000 for the United
and plunging prices. Globally, investment
States. China is now also a global leader
in cheap and carbon-free solar energy is
in lithium battery anode production. The
rapidly supplanting fossil fuels.
French oil giant Total has bought the
lithium battery company SAFT for $950
million, as big oil is beginning to see
where the sun is shining. Even the Saudis
are now planning for major solar development as oil revenues collapse.
The more renewables that are built,
the lower the cost, the less pollution, the
more good jobs are created. California
and its utilities and regulators are a good
example of how we are moving rapidly toward a renewable turn. California utilities
like PG&E and Southern California Edison
have seen the future, and it’s renewable.
They’re making major investments in
electric vehicle charging stations at the
same time the state, led by Gov. Jerry
Brown, mandates the phase-in of more
renewable power. The utilities understand
that the renewable future means more,
not fewer, electric sales.
And it’s companies like Tesla, Faraday Future, China’s BYD, and Mercedes
that aim to provide the vehicles to take
advantage of this electricity and charging
stations. And the batteries on these electric cars can also plug into the grid and
your house to help provide supplemental
power.
California’s system uses a renewable
auction mechanism with competitive bids
to help finance renewables, employing
market forces to help keep pushing the
cost of renewables down.
Wall Street investment in renewable energy is now far greater than in fossil fuels.
Peabody Coal was bankrupt on the same
day the merger of Solar City and Tesla
was proposed, and PG&E announced the
planned shutdown of Diablo Canyon,
California’s last nuclear plant.
The sun is rising. Politicians and regulators need to assist our renewable entrepreneurs, workers and their unions, and
communities hungry for clean sustainable jobs. We are witnessing the dawn of
global ecological economic growth.
Roy Morrison has been an energy consultant, author, and activist for over thirty
years. He has worldwide experience. He
drafted the nation’s first law on municipal
aggregation for retail electric competition.
His book, Ecological Democracy, was first
book to discuss an ecological civilization.
Roy Morrison’s latest book, Sustainability
Sutra will be published by Select Books in
NY in March 2017. He is working on solar
farm development with Greater Boston
Capital Partners. You can reach him at roy.
[email protected].
The author,
Roy Morrison.
This picture
was taken
in a tropical
rainforest. Photo taken
by his wife,
Luanne
Bakero
Fossil fuel infrastructure targeted in NY State
By Sue Smith-Heavenrich
Assemblywoman Barbara Lifton
spoke about a moratorium on fossil fuel
infrastructure in Binghamton earlier this
month.
Assemblywoman Barbara Lifton (D/
WFP-125th District) and 21 other state
lawmakers are asking Governor Andrew
Cuomo to impose a statewide moratorium on permits for new pipelines, compressor stations, power plants and gas
storage facilities. Earlier this month, Lifton
penned the sign-on letter to the governor outlining environmental and health
concerns. “We need to stop rolling out new major
fossil fuel infrastructure,” Lifton told Tompkins Weekly last week. In her letter, Lifton
notes that these facilities have caused
explosions and fires, and discharge toxic
pollutants into the air. In addition to
environmental hazards, they perpetuate
New York’s dependence on highly polluting gas, oil, coal and other fossil fuels that
contribute to global climate change, the
letter states. “We have learned over the past 10 years
that methane is a huge contributor to
climate change,” Lifton says. “According to
Dr. Robert Howarth at Cornell University,
methane is 104 times more potent as a
greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.”
One-third of all methane emissions in the
U.S. derive from natural gas and petroleum systems. Methane is emitted at all
stages of natural gas production, from
drilling to processing, storage, transmission and distribution. “If we want to bring down the amount
of carbon quickly, and stop contributing
to global warming, the best thing we can
do is to stop throwing methane into the
atmosphere,” Lifton says. Rather than waiting for the federal government to make
policy, Lifton feels that New York can take
the lead in what she calls the “new green
revolution”. The first step is to stop creating ways
to burn more fossil fuels and focus on
decreasing the demand. Cuomo understands this, Lifton says, citing his State of
the State “Built to Lead” address. In that
speech, Cuomo explains that the least
expensive and most effective way to meet
New York State’s energy goals is to reduce
the energy consumption in New York’s
homes, businesses and institutions. That
can be achieved by making these buildings more energy efficient. That increased energy efficiency means
lower utility bills for customers and lower
operating costs for businesses. It means
putting less carbon into the atmosphere.
Lifton’s only criticism: why set the bar so
low? “Cuomo’s plan is aimed at one-sixth
of the homes in New York”, she says. “Why
not 50 percent?” While Lifton is collecting signatures
from lawmakers, Walter Hang, president
of Toxics Targeting in Ithaca, encourages
citizens and environmental groups to sign
on to the same letter hosted at his website (toxicstargeting.com/MarcellusShale).
As of July 18, there were nearly 900 signatures. Many of these, Hang explained, are
from people who don’t want fracked gas
in New York. “There are about a dozen major pipeline proposals, power plant proposals,
and compressor station proposals all over
the state,” Hang says. “They are moving
toward approval.” One of these is Dominion’s $158 million New Market pipeline
expansion project that includes a huge
new compressor station. The transmission pipeline cuts through Ithaca, Ellis
Hollow and Dryden, and would convey
gas from Pennsylvania to New England
and beyond. He questions the need for
infrastructure that will ensure continued
fossil-fuel use for the next 50 years. According to a New York Independent
System Operator (NYISO)’s report, “Power
Trends 2016,” the state has plenty of
energy for the next decade. The report
predicts that future use will be flat or go
down. We don’t need additional fossil
fuels that contribute to pollution and
climate change, Hang says. One person who doesn’t support a
moratorium on fossil fuel infrastructure is
State Senator Thomas O’Mara (R/C/I-58th
District). He is the chairman of the Senate
Environmental Conservation Committee
and, while he believes New York should
continue focusing on short- and longterm strategies to develop more clean
energy sources, he contends the moratorium isn’t the way to do it. In an email comment, O’Mara said the
moratorium is “an unworkable proposal
that would be a job-killer.” He feels it
would further drive manufacturing and
other private-sector economic growth
out of the Southern Tier and Finger Lakes
regions, and produce skyrocketing energy
costs for consumers. O’Mara characterized the call for a
moratorium on fossil fuel infrastructure
as unbalanced and unreasonable action
Assemblywoman Barbara Lifton spoke about a moratorium on fossil fuel infrastructure in Binghamton in
July, 2016.
that, he said, “would jeopardize local and
statewide jobs, workers, employers, consumers and communities from ever being
able to survive the economic decline and
struggle that’s still confronting upstate
New York.” Lifton disagrees. Focusing on renewable energy, constructing energy efficient
buildings and insulating homes and
government buildings means work for
New Yorkers. “Tens of thousands of jobs,”
she estimated. “Good local jobs.” As for costs, Lifton concedes that
renewable energy comes with a higher
price. But so does continuing reliance on
fossil fuels. Noting the enormous costs of
climate disasters, she believes we can’t
afford to keep burning gas and oil. “We’re
still cleaning up after Sandy,” she notes.
Re-printed with permission from the
Tompkins Weekly, where it first appeared, on
July 24th, 2016. http://bit.ly/Fossil-Fuels-NYS.
CLIMATE CHANGE
WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG 802.439.6675 August 2016
Please tell me the weather next month!
By Dr. Alan K. Betts
Climate Prediction: Global Carbon
Emissions Could Peak as Early as 2020
Much of the
northeast is experiencing drought
this summer. It is
patchy because
a lot of summer rain comes
from scattered
thunderstorms. Despite periods of drought
and heavy rain, our garden here in Vermont
is growing well this summer. In part, this is
because I have watered the whole vegetable garden twice and a few crops more
frequently. There has been one unexpected
but delightful change in our local ecosystem, perhaps because of the warm winter,
as well as the dry weather. This spring and
summer there have been so few mosquitoes
that weeding is a delight, and it is a pleasure
to eat dinner on the lawn in the evening. It
is such a contrast from some recent years,
when I wore a net over my head in the vegetable garden.
Last month I visited the European
Weather Centre in England, which provides
the best ten-day forecasts for the planet. For
30 years, I have worked with scientists there
to improve the modeling of the transfer of
heat and water from land to atmosphere,
since this affects the weather. Computers
have improved so much that these forecast
models can calculate changes in pressure,
temperature, wind and precipitation every
hour everywhere on the
globe for points that are
only 5-10 miles apart for
one to two weeks ahead.
So now I am asked,
“Weather forecasts have
become pretty good for
even next week, but what
I really want is a forecast
for the next two months,
so I can make plans for my
work, my crops and my
vacation.” This is a much
more difficult modeling
challenge. Every day, we
measure the state of the
atmosphere with surface
weather stations, weather
balloons and instruments
on perhaps a hundred satellites, and all
this data goes into models for the global
weather, running continuously on some
of the largest computers available. One
hundred forecasts may be run out for the
next two weeks. For the first few days, they
are very similar, because they remember
the measurements they started from, so
we know with some certainty what the
weather will be. But as complex jet-streams
and storms develop, the hundred forecasts
spread apart, and after two weeks we cannot be sure what will happen.
When we run fifty forecasts for the
coming season, these too spread out a lot
within a month. The earth does have some
long term memory, the energy stored in
the oceans, and the moisture in the soil
that came from last month’s rain, the snow
cover in winter and ice in the Arctic that
keeps temperatures below freezing by
reflecting sunlight. These do influence the
weather patterns for months. But the global
jet stream patterns that strongly influence
weather can change every week, so it is
harder to predict their pattern a month
ahead. However, the seasonal climate of
the earth seems more predictable than our
models. Scientists are studying whether the
links between stratosphere and troposphere
play a role.
So, seasonal forecasting still needs
improvements in our models. The official
three-month outlook for August to October
from NOAA is that the northeast will be
warmer, but precipitation will be average.
The corresponding seasonal forecast from
the European Weather Centre is that the
northeast will be warmer and drier than
average. If this is correct, our drought will
continue.
On the energy front, it is clear we need a
carbon tax on fossil fuels to nudge the energy system to become more efficient, and
accelerate the development of renewable
energy resources. In Canada, this helped the
economy of British Columbia, and Alberta is
now following the same strategy. But on our
national front, one political party drifts still
further into a fantasy world, where devastating the planet’s climate and ecosystems to
satisfy its financial sponsors will somehow
save America’s ego.
Yet despite establishment resistance,
the stunning speed of renewable energy
development with the rapid fall of the prices
of solar panels and lithium batteries is accelerating change. Global carbon emissions
could peak as early as 2020, so keep pushing for goals that will bring us a sustainable
future.
Dr. Alan Betts of Atmospheric Research
in Pittsford, VT is a leading climate scientist.
Browse alanbetts.com.
August lilies. Photo: Alan Betts.
25
VERMONT CLIMATE SCIENTIST RECEIVES
GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL AWARD
Dr. Alan K. Betts Receives the First Bert Bolin Global
Environmental Focus Group Award
Alan K. Betts is the first recipient of the
Bert Bolin Award/Lecture of the AGU Global
Environmental Change Focus Group. He will
present this lecture at the 2016 American
Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, to be held
12–16 December in San Francisco. The
award recognizes an earth scientist for his or
her ground breaking research or leadership
in global environmental change through
cross-disciplinary, interdisciplinary, and
trans-disciplinary research in the past 10
years.
CITATION
Alan Betts’ research “has been transformative by providing a new understanding of
one of the fundamental climate processes
– land-atmospheric coupling and how it varies from the diurnal to monthly time-scale,
with land cover, and how it may vary under
environmental change. His environmental
change leadership in Vermont has been
exceptional. His writings, public talks and TV
interviews dealing with weather, climate, climate change, energy and policy issues have
fostered positive debate; as they both clarify
the climate issues we all face, while encouraging readers and listeners to explore
alternative, hopeful paths for themselves,
their families and society,” said Prof. Rong
Fu, President, Global Environmental Change
Focus Group at the University of Texas
RESPONSE
“I am grateful to the AGU Global Environmental Change Focus Group for selecting
me as the first recipient of the Bert Bolin
Award.
“My work over the past forty years has
covered a wide range of topics central to
understanding the Earth’s climate over land
and ocean, and the coupling between the
oceans and land-surface, the atmospheric
boundary layer, clouds, convection and radiation across scales. Because I have worked
as an independent scientist in Vermont for
decades, this work would not have been
possible without the support of so many
across the globe. I would specifically like to
thank Martin Miller, Anton Beljaars, Pedro
Viterbo and Gianpaulo Balsamo (and the
late Tony Hollingsworth) at ECMWF for
Bert Bolin
(1925-2007)
a world leading climate
scientist and
science organizer. He is the
man who got
the world to
agree on climate. Photo:
simpleclimate.wordpress.com.
thirty years of collaboration using data to
evaluate and improve the physics of their
analysis-forecast system. My recent work
on land-atmosphere-cloud coupling over
the Canadian Prairies that this award cites
would not have been possible without the
foresight of Ray Desjardins at AgricultureCanada, and the generous support of other
Canadian scientists. My understanding of
the Amazon owes much to my Brazilian
friends and collaborators, Maria and Pedro
Silva Dias. Long-term support from NSF and
grants from NASA made all this possible.
“My role as a climate advisor in Vermont
owes a profound debt to the people of
Vermont, who have deep roots in the land.
They see what is happening to their climate,
and have reached out to me, urgently seeking understanding and answers, as ongoing
climate change is transforming the state.
So for more than a decade, it has been clear
that my research must address these critical
questions; and translate all that we know,
both locally and globally, into concepts that
citizens and professionals can understand
and apply to their work and lives.” – Alan
Betts, Atmospheric Research, Pittsford, VT.
Green Energy Times would like to congratulate Dr. Alan K. Betts for this outstanding
achievement. We are grateful for his work
and proud that he is a local Vermonter. Betts
submits a regular column in each edition of
Green Energy Times.
UNBELIEVABLE PHOTO OF THE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA WILDFIRE
BY JASON MARK | JUL 29 2016
Hieronymous Beach. That’s what popped
into my mind when I saw Rob Dionne’s unnerving photograph, captured last weekend
as he stood on the Santa Monica Pier. The
sky choked with a cloud of brown smoke,
the babel-like crowds in the foreground,
the broodiness of the whole scene—all of
it recalled the paintings of Hieronymous
Bosch, the 16th-century Dutch artist who is
best remembered for the dark allegories he
created on canvas. The sun-dampening smoke cloud came
from the Sand Fire, a blaze in the Santa
Clarita Hills north of Los Angeles that, since
it broke out a week ago today, has scorched
roughly 38,000 acres, destroyed 18 homes,
and forced the evacuation of some 20,000
people. And that’s the less dangerous of
the two wildfires currently tearing through
California right now. In Big Sur, the Soberanes fire is barely contained as firefighters
contend with the rugged landscape of the
Los Padres National Forest. Earlier this week,
a bulldozer operator died in the course of
fire-containment operations there. The smoke cloud from the Sand Fire as seen from the Santa Monica Pier in CA. Photo Courtesy of Rob Dionne.
Fire ecologists are increasingly confident
in their predictions that global warming
is fueling wildfires in the American West
as earlier springs, hotter summers, and
drought combine to make fires more frequent and more intense. The “fire season”—
an annual apocalypse once limited to the
summer months—is now a year-round affair
in some parts of the West. That’s worth keeping in mind as you take
in this amazing pic. What you’re seeing isn’t
some glimpse of dystopia to come. Rather,
the smoke eclipse over Santa Monica is part
of the new normal, an all-too-ordinary scene
of life on this smoldering planet. Source: Re-printed from Sierra Magazine.
http://bit.ly/CA_Wildfire
26 August 2016 WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG
802.439.6675
Pirouette Farm’s Community Solar
MetaModuleTM solar
panels being installed.
Courtesy photo: Norwich
Technologies
BUILDING & ENERGY EFFICIENCY
SNOWDOG
CONSTRUCTION,
LTD.
Repairs
Remodeling
Renovations
Cont’d from p.10 time on systems SunEdison itself installed.
Nine households have their own portions of the system. Almost half of the
output goes to the Piros for use in their
home and the farm. Others bought into
the system in much the same manner
that people buy into other community
projects. The special Solarize Norwich
price was $3.65 per watt, including 25%
that goes towards 20 years of operation,
maintenance, and insurance. This reflects
efficiencies inherent in the EZ-PV system.
The EZ-PV process was developed
by Troy McBride and Joel Stettenheim,
founders of NT. They are two of four
company employees who have doctorates from Dartmouth. The company also
benefits from the fact that Dartmouth
College is only a short distance away, providing both inspiration and expertise.
Given the level of education and
creativity at NT, which led to the EZ-PV
system, it should come as no surprise that
the company has very active research and
development going on. One other project
that is in the works is called SunTrap. It
is a concentrating solar thermal receiver,
using a trough design, developed at Norwich Technologies.
It will be exciting to see what more
comes from this Vermont company.
It will be exciting to see what more
comes from this Vermont company.
To learn more about Norwich Technologies go to website at www.norwichtech.com, or give them a call. Their
phone number is 802-281-3213.
[email protected]
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BUILDING EFFICIENCY - PASSIVE HOUSE
August 2016 WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG
Passive House for Habitat for Humanity
802.439.6675 27
Many thanks to our Sponsors:
Vermont Mutual Insurance
Group generously donated
“Simple, decent and af$15,000. VHCB also accepted a
fordable,” that is Habitat for
grant application for another
Humanity’s mantra. This has
$15,000. Marc Companion
meant different things to
at the VHCB and Chris Miksic
different people. In 2016, it
helped to contact vendors
means building to the Passive
that provide high performing
House Standard.
materials and efficient equipChris Miksic of Montpement. They were able to get
lier Construction, a certicorporate discounts for the
fied PHIUS PH Builder and
Mitsubishi Heat Pump miniConsultant and Bruce E.
split. Klearwall PH windows,
Landry of 5 Star Energy Tech
Zehnder Heat Recovery Venpresented the concept of a
tilation system, GE Air Source
Passive House at Habitat’s All
Heat Pump water heater, and
Affiliate Vermont Conference
sheetrock and cellulose from
last fall. Everyone was intrigued
Habitat for Humanity rendering of south gable. Courtesy of Stonorov Workshop.
Wallboard Inc. were all disby the idea of a cost-effective,
counted. The dollars saved were
low energy use PH home. Our
starting to add up. Locally, Allen
challenge was the affordable part of that
that looks and feels spacious. Tolya is a proLumber in Barre and VT-ICF in Waterbury
statement, tracking the cost on a construcfessor of architecture at Norwich University
provided favorable pricing for the framing,
tion estimate spreadsheet and making the
in Vermont, and corroborated with Irene
roofing, siding and foundation insulation.
spreadsheet transparent is necessary. The
Facciolo of Thunder Mill Design, also a proAll of these organizations and businesses
goal is to have a turnkey price of $90 to $95
fessor of architecture at Norwich University.
helped to keep the Passive House Habitat
per square foot.
They taught a semester course on design
Build move forward and within budget.
The Town of East Montpelier, Vermont
and construction documentation, and the
With the construction budget under
Housing Conservation Board (VHCB) and
students produced a complete set of concontrol, the focus turned to the operating
Cross-VT Trail Association (CVTA) partnered
struction drawings and documentation for
cost of the home and the comfort attriin the Benton Conservation Project. CVTA
our project. It was a win-win for everyone
butes. Depending on homeowner behavior,
acquired 11 acres through a VHCB grant,
involved.
the total energy cost for a small PH can be
and East Montpelier contributed $12, 000
Habitat uses volunteer labor wherever
as little as $60-80 per month for electricfor the project. Habitat for Humanity sold
possible to keep construction costs down.
ity! The Passive House comfort principle
the project an acre of the land for $1.00 if
Part of the eligibility requirement with the
designs for all interior surface temperatures
an “affordable house” were built on it, as a
family partners is an agreement to con(walls, ceiling and concrete floor) to maincondition of the grant.
tribute at least 500 hours of “sweat equity.”
tain a maximum of 7.2 degrees F difference
Tolya and Otto Stonorov of Stonorov
They have to volunteer hours to build their
to interior air temperature year-round.
Workshop created the design concept of
home. This house is built on a slab instead
Insulation levels and air tightness levels
a simple but efficiently designed three
of a full foundation, which saved money in
are modeled to assure a healthful moisture
bedroom, one bath, 1250 square foot home
excavation, concrete, and insulating costs.
migration profile. PH buildings will last
generations with no health and structural
issues. A Passive House Building / High
Performance House prevents the accumulation of trapped water vapor in building
components. Century-old homes in VerFossil Fuel Free
mont are still standing because their walls
High Performance Homes
and attics have been open, uninsulated and
able to vapor-dry on a seasonal basis. The
Zero Energy Modulars or Site Built
same vapor drying principles are applied to
super insulated and air-tight PH envelopes
today, assuring that PH will perform effiDeep Energy Retrofits
ciently and stand to provide shelter for 100
High Performance Upgrades
years and longer.
Early in the design process, building
for existing homes
assemblies are critiqued
with energy modeling and
Owner/Builder
Cont’d on p.28
by Bruce Landry
BOB IRVING
[email protected]
www.rhirvinghomebuilders.com
(603) 648-2635
Salisbury, NH
Serving New Hampshire and Eastern Vermont
Serving Southern Vermont and surrounding areas since 1984!
Build Green… Let Nature be your Focus!
31 Station Rd. • Mount Holly, VT 05758 • P: 802-259-2094 • F. 802-259-2689
|Quality Residential | Commercial | Historical Preservation| Covered Bridges |
www.wrightconstruction.com
2828
August
15, 2014
WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG
802.439.6675
28
August
WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG
802.439.6675
JUNE2016
WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG
802.439.6675
Building Efficiency
- HighEFFICIENCY
Performance
BUILDING
Hi-Efficiency Home by Halfmoon Construction in NYS
Million Dollar ‘Net-Zero Reaady’ Options Are Affordable
By George Harvey
Andy Ellis is a man with a refreshing attitude. The founder of Halfmoon
Construction, in Clifton Park, New York, is
a man who clearly loves his work, and his
work is making homes efficient. He loves
to do it, he loves to teach people about
it, and he loves to spread the word. “I live
this,” he said, “and I can talk about this for
hours.”
Ellis is even involved during his off
hours. He is a member of the Capital
Region Builders Association, and is currently the head of the committee
working on writing new building
codes, which will provide home
owners with increased efficiency,
lower bills, and decreased carbon
emissions. Not only will it save
clients money in the present, it
will save the environment for their
children and grandchildren.
Many people, even including
some in the building trade, cling
to outdated ideas about construction, particularly to the idea that
efficient construction costs more than
conventional construction. “It is not more
costly than stick-built,” he said. He asserts
that high levels of efficiency are not only
within reach of ordinary people with ordinary budgets, they actually save money
right up front, if they are done right. This
means that a family that can just afford
This net-zero ready home was built in Glenville, NY by Halfmoon Construction.
Inset shows the kitchen area. Courtesy photos.
to build a
conventional
house, can
afford to build
an identical-looking efficient house and
save 90% on their heating bills. “I want
people to understand that this is achievable and just takes a different way of
thinking.”
Ellis does not keep secrets about this,
and does not mind sharing what he
knows with others. “I need more competi-
Passive House for Habitat for Humanity
Cont’d from p.27
building- science principles. For PHIUS
PH certification, third-party verification
of the build process is required. Heating and ventilation equipment is sized
properly to save on wasted energy. Design
energy models and building assemblies
go through a pre-certification process of
feedback and evaluation. One hundred
years is a long time. PH homes will serve
and shelter many generations of families
into the future. The added extra quality in
craftsmanship, planning, design and cost
for certification and verification is time
and money well spent if you are planning
on building an extremely well insulated,
air-tight, low energy house that will last
generations.
So, yes, a Passive House is simple, decent
and affordable housing, that can and
should be built.
Bruce E Landry founded 5 Star Energy
Tech in 2007, is a certified Efficiency
Vermont Energy Star, BPI, Zero Energy Now
and a VT Home Energy Profile contractor.
5 Star Energy Tech is based in Barre, VT.
[email protected].
tors, so we can bring these homes up to a
high standard of efficiency.” And so he is
about teaching other builders to compete
with him. “There is no textbook for this,”
he has said.
He recently built a really good example
home in Glenville, New York. This was an
unusual home, because the people who
ordered it, while they were very interested
in efficiency and renewable energy, were
uncompromising on its appearance and
functionality. For example, they did not
want to orient the building to take special
advantage of sunlight, but to take advantage of the view. As it happens, the two
goals were compatible. The house is two
stories of 3,500 square feet each, and is
not designed to be compact or to reduce
heat loss through a special shape. It is
intended for comfortable living.
Comfort requires efficiency, in terms of
heat loss, ventilation, lighting, and so on.
The most important things to deal with,
to achieve this goal, are insulation and
ventilation. The Glenville house has three
inches of Logix ICF in the walls on each
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wright-builders.com
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side of a concrete block, running from the
footing to the roof, for a R-24 insulation.
The roof has two inches of closed cell
insulation, with twelve inches of blown-in
cellulose, which comes to R-60. The basement has three inches of Logix Heat Sheet
beneath the floor, for R-10. Windows are
Anderson 400 series, double pane with
argon filling, double hung.
Air-sealing on the Glenville house was
nothing short of spectacular. This is an
area in which the quality of the builder
really can stand out, because it is not
entirely a design feature, but requires
experience and knowledge. A passive
house must meet a standard of 0.6 ACH50
(air changes per hour at 50 pascals). The
blower door test at the Glenville house
produced the result of 0.1 ACH50. Ellis
said of this, “We concentrate on the building envelope, and our building envelopes get national attention.” Under the
circumstances, that sounds like a modest
statement.
Of course, a structure that is so air-tight
needs good ventilation. In the Glenville
house, the heat recovery ventilation
(HRV), from Fantech, is built right into
the heating system. The system has some
interesting features. For example, when
a person takes a shower, the HRV system
goes on so the moist air can be ducted
out of the house, but this is controlled by
a timer, so it does not stay on too long.
Altogether, the Glenville house needs
about 20% of the energy for heating or
cooling that a conventionally built home
would use. It is not a net-zero energy
structure. Ellis said it is net-zero ready,
however. He calculated that the house
needs a 10-kilowatt photovoltaic array to
make it net-zero.
“My thing is that I want people to
understand; I am about the education.
This is how you can achieve it, and it is
not difficult to do,” Ellis said. “People need
to know that these are achievable for the
average person, for people with average
budgets.”
Halfmoon Construction is based in Clifton
Park, NY. Their website is: [email protected].
Westwind
Eastwind
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Building Efficiency - Passive House
WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG 802.439.6675 August 2016
Passive House Goes to the Next Level
By Katrin Klingenberg, PHIUS Executive Director
The Orchards at Orenco in Hillsboro, OR is the largest multifamily passive building in North America. Photo credit: Casey Braunger, Ankrom
Moisan Architects
Each year for the past decade Passive
House Institute US (PHIUS) welcomes our
partners and colleagues to the annual
North American Passive House Conference. This September as we gather in
Philadelphia, we will reflect on the outstanding accomplishments made since
our first conference in Bemidji, Minnesota
at the BioHaus in 2006. From building
the very first passive house in North
America in 2003, to this year reaching the
milestone of over 1 million square feet of
certified and pre-certified projects across
1,200 units nationwide, we have seen
tremendous growth in passive building
from coast to coast.
Taking the conversation beyond simple
energy consumption and greenhouse
gas emissions reductions to
put a greater emphasis on
human comfort, health, and
resilience led to the devolvement of the PHIUS+ 2015
Passive Building Standard
released by PHIUS this past
year. PHIUS+ 2015 is the
first and only passive building standard based upon
climate-specific comfort and
performance criteria aimed at
presenting an affordable solution to achieving the most
durable, resilient, energyefficient building possible for
a specific location.
29
Join us in PHILLY, Sept 21-25, 2016
11th ANNUAL NORTH AMERICAN
PASSIVE HOUSE CONFERENCE
Climate-Specific Solutions
With nearly a decade of
experience certifying projects
in climates as varied as Louisiana, New
England, Illinois, and even Alaska, we
recognize that there is no one-size-fits-all
solution to achieving comfort, durability, and resiliency. That’s why the PHIUS+
2015 Standard takes a climate-specific approach to performance, providing tailored
solutions at the local level that add up to
achieve wide-scale adaptability.
Big Gains in Multifamily
The cost-optimized PHIUS+ 2015
Standard has contributed to substantial
growth of multifamily passive buildings
across North America, particularly in
the affordable housing sector, including
projects such as Village Centre in Brewer,
ME, Beach Green North in New York City,
Cont’d on p.35
2016 HPC
New England
Regional Home
Performance
Conference
October 19-20 I Springfield, MA
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Visit www.homeperformance.org/conference/2016-hpc-new-england-regional-home-performance-conference for more information today!
BUILDING & ENERGY EFFICIENCY
New Hampshire Sets Remarkable New Energy Efficiency Goals
30 August 2016 WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG 802.439.6675
On August 2, 2016, an order from New
Hampshire’s Public Utilities Commissioners approving an agreement for an Energy Efficiency
Resource Standard (EERS) is a big step forward
in smart energy policy and a victory for our
residents and businesses. The approved
settlement agreement, endorsed by all parties
including the state’s utilities, agencies, businesses and advocates, strengthens NH’s commitment to lower energy costs and will keep
our energy dollars in our state’s economy.
As stated in the order, “It is routine, as we
have long required our utilities to help their
customers save money by using less electricity
and gas. It is remarkable as it is based on the
setting of savings targets, not dollars spent.”
Under the EERS, NH will save 3.1% of its
2014 electric sales and 2.5% of gas sales by
2020, with a long-term goal of achieving all
cost-effective energy efficiency, that is, all
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energy efficiency resources that are cheaper
than traditional supply resources. In a state
where the 2015 average retail price of electricity for residential customers was 18.52 cents,
“energy efficiency is NH’s cheapest source of
energy, costing around 3.76 cents per kilowatt
hour,” according to consumer advocate Donald Kreis (Concord Monitor 3/29/16).
NH’s new EERS also increases funding for
low-income customers and will expand the
utilities’ existing efficiency programs, allowing
residential, commercial, and industrial customers to lower their bills by taking advantage
of programs for new construction, retrofits
for existing structures, advanced lighting, and
much more. Not only will program participants benefit from lower energy bills, ratepayers who choose not to participate will also
realize savings through the shared generation,
transmission and distribution benefits.
The approval of the EERS makes NH more
competitive with its neighboring states in the
region, most of which have had aggressive
energy efficiency goals in place for over a decade. “NH’s EERS is solid proof that utilities, advocates, industry, and government recognize
the enormous value energy efficiency has for
our states’ residents, businesses, and economy
at large and can work together toward a
common goal of lowering electricity bills and
keeping our energy dollars within NH borders,”
says Kate Epsen of the NH Sustainable Energy
Association. Read more at www.nhsea.org.
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BUILDING & ENERGY EFFICIENCY
WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG 802.439.6675 August 2016 31
New Qualifications for Energy Star Windows
GOOD WINDOWS ARE GETTING BETTER!
• DOE ZERH’s Changing Window Specifications •
ENERGY STAR-labeled products distinguish the top products in the marketplace. As
residential windows have advanced and the high performance windows of several years
ago are now the standard product, the ENERGY STAR window program has raised the bar
on its qualification criteria. Because the DOE Zero Energy Ready Home (ZERH) program
requires windows with ENERGY STAR specifications, our program is now phasing in the
updated window requirements. We’ve highlighted this change in communications and
training since early 2015, but we wanted to offer this reminder because we are approaching a key date. For DOE Zero Energy Ready Home partners, here are the key takeaways:
• In the Hot and Mixed zones, the updated ENERGY STAR window specifications required for DOE ZERH are shown below in the chart. Keep in mind that DOE Zero Energy
Ready Home allows area-weighted averaging for U-Value and SHGC, as well as an exception for passive solar design exemption. • For projects in the Cold zone (IECC Climate Zones 5–8 & Marine 4), DOE ZERH has
phased in the updated window specifications. For projects permitted after 8/31/2016,
the new windows specifications shown in the chart will apply. There are 2 important
points about these updated specifications:
1. There are 4 different U-Values called out in the ENERGY STAR window specifications
with corresponding SHGC values, as the chart shows. This provides flexibility for project
specifications.
2. Area-weighting of U-Value and SHGC for the entire window package is permitted.
If you have
any questions
about the new
window provisions, or any
other program
requirements,
please contact
us at zero@
newportpartnersllc.com.
Source:
Zero Energy
Ready Home
Newsletter at
http://bit.ly/
betterwindows.
Window Specs to
Hot Climates
Apply to DOE
IEECC CZ 1-2
Zero Energy
Ready Home
Projects
U-Value SHGC
Mixed Climates
IECC CZ 3-4 (except Marine)
U-Value
SHGC
Projects permitted
up to 8/31/2016
0.40
Project permitted
after 8/31/2016
0.25
[3] 0.30 [3] 0.25
[4] 0.30 [4] 0.40
Cold Climates
IECC CZ 5-8 & Zone 4 Marine
U-Value
SHGC
0.30
0.31
0.32
Any
≥0.35
≥0.40
0.27
0.28
0.29
0.30
Any
≥0.32
≥0.37
≥0.42
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32 August 2016 WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG 802.439.6675
HUGE SOLAR FOR
SCHOOLS -- in MA and NY
Cont’d from p. 1
The Largest School Solar System in NY
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo has announced completion of New York’s largest solar project so far at a public school
in Avon, a rural town of about 7,150
people south of Rochester. The project is
expected to save $1.6 million in electricity
costs for the Avon Central School District,
which has 1,000 students in kindergarten
through grade 12.
The project is part of the governor’s
strategy on climate change called Reforming the Energy Vision (REV). The goal
is for the state to get 50% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030. The
program’s success is already seen in a
600% growth in the solar market, with
105,000 low-income households having
permanently cut their energy bills with
efficiency, and thousands of jobs created.
The REV website, www.ny.gov/REV4NY,
has more information
Speaking of REV and the Avon School
project, Governor Cuomo said, “New York
State is leading the way in developing
clean energy alternatives to help communities lower costs and reduce their
carbon footprint.” He added, “This project
is another example of how we are taking
action to preserve our environment and
create a cleaner and greener New York.”
The Avon Central School District’s project is a 1.5-megawatt ground-mounted
PV array. It will produce enough energy
for about 250 average homes each year.
Its reductions of greenhouse gas emissions will be 927 metric tons each year,
the equivalent of taking about 200 cars
off the road.
New York’s Lieutenant Governor Kathy
Hochul spoke at the ribbon cutting event
in Avon. “Under Governor Cuomo’s leadership, New York State is making real strides
in developing a clean energy system that
encourages greater use of renewable
energy and energy efficiency,” she said.
“In addition to helping this school district
reduce energy costs, the solar array will be
used to educate students about solar and
clean energy.”
A NY-Sun initiative provided incentives totaling about $564,000 to support
the project. The initiative is intended to
advance growth of a sustainable, self-sufficient solar industry in New York. Avon’s
array is off-site and uses remote net
metering to earn the credit to the school
district for the energy it supplies the grid.
This should give the system about $1.6
million in solar credits over a 25-year
period.
The project is being developed through
a power purchase agreement with WGL
Energy Systems, which will continue to
own and manage the solar array. Under
the agreement, the school district paid no
upfront costs for the solar project and will
pay a fixed rate for the energy produced
by the solar array. In addition, the Avon
Central School District is working with
WGL Energy Systems to design a curriculum around the solar project and its
educational components.
This is not the school district’s first
solar project. It has a 5.5-kilowatt system
installed on two school rooftops in 2008.
When that array was installed, the district
also got LED lighting and motion sensors
so lights would go off automatically when
no one was using them. A capital project
also reduced electric use for heating and
operating the swimming pool.
New York State Energy Research and
Development Authority (NYSERDA) has
provided funding for 92 public school
From top to bottom:
Avon Central School
District 1.5MW solar
array; Avon High
School and Avon Middle School. This accompanies a 5.5 kW roof top
solar that both schools
benefit from. Photos
courtesy of NYSERDA.
districts and private schools in the state.
K-Solar, a public-private partnership of the
New York Power Authority and NYSERDA
have 318 school districts registered for
competitive selection of private developers and help with permitting processes
and technical and administrative support.
New York State’s support for the solar
industry has produced impressive growth
in the industry. The state currently has
over 8,250 solar workers, an increase of
more than 3,000 since 2013. It is anticipated that an additional 1,000 jobs are to
be added in the industry this year.
If You Can Dream It, We Can Do It!
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Groundbreaking for Hampshire College’s 4.7 MW solar array is underway. Photos courtesy of Hampshire College.
Dick Walker Sawmill, Etc.
Evergreen Road, Fair Haven, VT 05743
Phone & Fax (802) 273-2077
Earth-Friendly Heating and Cooling Solutions
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SUSTAINABLE EDUCATION
WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG 802.439.6675 August 2016 33
I HAVE A STREAM:
INSTITUTE FOR ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT AT VERMONT LAW
Conduit-Based Micro-Hydro
by Russell King
The classic picture of hydropower is
that of a large concrete dam that spans
the breadth of a river, providing water and
electricity to thousands, if not millions.
Hydroelectric dams are not merely physically big, however; their size manifests in
two other ways as well. First, hydroelectric
dams have a proportionally large environmental impact. Aside from the aesthetic
harm of forever changing a river formally
untouched by humans, the river ecology suffers. Whole valleys are flooded to
provide reservoirs, destroying the riparian
habitat. Water temperature changes, and
downstream ecosystems do not receive
the debris and sediment they need.
Perhaps most importantly, fish cannot
travel upstream to spawn, even with fish
ladders. Second, large-scale hydropower
comes with a correspondingly large set of
regulatory and cost hurdles, which places
it out of the hands of most. Licensing or
exempting a hydroelectric dam through
FERC with a capacity exceeding 10 MW
can take years and requires technical expertise that is unavailable to the average
citizen. NEPA is usually triggered, further
extending the licensing period. And then
there is the threat of litigation should
a party object to what the developer is
doing to the river. Simply put, everything
about classic hydropower is big: with big
dams, big impacts, big costs, and lots of
regulation.
is the qualified conduit hydropower facility program, which completely removes
the need for a license or exemption from
FERC. Finally, the power of moving water
is back in the hands of the average citizen.
So what is a qualified conduit hydropower facility? These facilities must meet
a few requirements. First, installed capacity must be less than 5 MW. Frequently,
the capacity is less than 200 kW (which is
small-hydro); systems as low as 2 kW to
10 kW (which is micro-hydro) make up
a significant portion of these facilities.
Second, the generator must be part of
a conduit, which is any artificial conveyance of water, such as a ditch or a pipe.
Third, that conduit must be primarily for
agricultural, industrial, or municipal uses.
On the ground, these are simple generators attached to already flowing water.
They are irrigation conduits in Colorado.
They are municipal wastewater pipes in
Alaska. They are drinking water channels
on farms in Vermont. They are, above all,
hydropower for the little guys.
Unlike large hydropower, the environmental impact of these conduit facilities
is limited. Firstly, they do not use a natural
waterway, so there are no flooded rivers
and stranded fish. Secondly, they use
water that will be used anyway. Irrigation is the most common, but drinking
water and wastewater are used, too. While
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the facility qualifies. As the requirements
are easy to meet, very few facilities are
rejected. Once qualified, FERC no longer
plays a role – once the applicant complies
with any state laws, they’re free to generate hydropower. Gone are the mountains
of work, environmental reports, and
expert information. What is left is an
easy-to-use application, accessible to just
about anyone.
Micro-hydro is just that: micro. With it
comes a micro environmental impact and
a micro regulatory regime. What is not micro, however, is conduit-based hydropower’s promise: providing clean, low-impact
energy using water for another purpose,
all while being in reach of the average
citizen. To be sure, residential users may
not be able to use it (so it will not replace
solar panels), but for New England’s farms,
towns, and industry, the promise of green
power is as far away as the nearest pipe.
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VEEP EXPANDS INTO NH
HANDS-ON SCHOOL PROGRAM
In this microhydro system, water is diverted into a penstock. Conduit-based systems use pipes that are
already serving other purposes like irrigation or wastewater. Credit: U.S. Department of Energy
Yet there is another way – conduitbased micro-hydro. In 2013, Congress
recognized that the licensing process for
big hydro did not scale down, disincentivising any smaller projects. The regulation
existed for a reason – large hydropower
has large impacts. But small-hydro and
micro-hydro have small and micro impacts, respectively. So Congress passed
the Hydropower Regulatory Efficiency Act
(HREA), which created several new programs to make the licensing or exemption
process for small-scale hydropower more
approachable. Amongst these programs
watering crops, one might as well generate electricity. In the case of wastewater,
micro-hydro turns a negative – polluted
water headed for treatment – into power
for a home or town, a positive. Essentially,
the environmental impact is limited to
that of the conduit itself, which is usually
minimal.
The regulatory hurdles are just as limited, too. If the three requirements are met,
the applicant sends in a notice of intent to
FERC. Their user-friendly template can be
found on their website. After a fifteen-day
initial phase and a forty-five day comment period, FERC determines whether
VEEP recently received a grant from the
Putnam Foundation to make that opportunity a reality. This first year of funding will
begin a relationship with its neighboring
state that VEEP hopes will be ongoing. VEEP
is actively seeking additional funding to
increase this year’s offerings and continue
to serve New Hampshire schools in future
years.
“New Hampshire doesn’t have an organization doing energy education programming in schools,” says Cara Robechek, VEEP’s
executive director. “We saw this as an opportunity to help teachers bring this education
into their classes.
“We hope to be able to expand our services in New Hampshire during the coming
year,” says Robechek, “and we’d love if our
energy advocates in New Hampshire would
let teachers know about our programming.”
VEEP offers a free day of in-class workshops for K–12 schools in western New
Hampshire, with additional free days available for large schools or schools that serve
low-income populations. VEEP’s hands-on,
interactive workshops on subjects like climate change, renewable energy, efficiency,
and weatherization encourage students to
think like scientists, solving hands-on engineering problems and reflecting on their
observations and experience.
VEEP also plans to offer education and
professional development for New Hampshire teachers, including support for allschool projects that reduce energy use and
the opportunity to borrow kits of educational equipment to use in the classroom. VEEP
can also lead in-depth, custom trainings to
help teachers develop hands-on science
Students at Cabot School in Vermont tackle a wind
engineering challenge in a VEEP Renewables by
Design in-class workshop. Photo courtesy of VEEP.
units and align their lessons with the Next
Generation Science Standards.
The staff members at VEEP believe that
education is the path to societal changes
around energy. VEEP programming uses
exemplary teaching and learning methods
about energy, which empower students
with knowledge and paths to action to
reduce energy use. This deeper understanding changes the way young people think
about energy, helping them to become
decision-making adults who can change our
society’s energy habits and build resilience
to weather the changes brought on by
climate change.
For more information on VEEP’s in-class
workshops, curricula, professional development for teachers, and other hands-on energy
education programs, visit veep.org. You can
also contact Cara Robechek at 802-552-VNRG
or e-mail [email protected] to schedule a local
VEEP educator for your school.
34 August 2016 WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG 802.439.6675
RESOURCES
350-Vermont: General group that coordinates a variety of statewide actions.
To join this group go to: http://350vermont.org
American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy: Consumer guide to home energy savings aceee.org/consumer
American Solar Energy Society (ASES): www.ases.org
Backwoods Solar: Specialty: solar, off-grid - www.backwoodssolar.com
Buildings Energy Data Book: buildingsdatabook.eren.doe.gov
Clean Power Estimator: www.consumerenergycenter.org/renewables/estimator
Consumer Guide to Home Energy Savings, Heating, Appliances, Refrigerator Guide, Building
Envelope, Driving: http://aceee.org/consumer
Dept. Public Svc. (CEDF): publicservice.VT.gov/energy/ee_cleanenergyfund.html
Dsireusa.com: www.dsireusa.com Renewables & Efficiency. Find state, local, utility, & federal incentives for renewable energy & energy efficiency.
Efficiency VT: This is a must-go-to site for immeasurable amounts of info. www.efficiencyVT.com
Energy Efficiency & R/E Clearinghouse (EREC): eetd.lbl.gov/newsletter/CBS_NL/nl6/Sources.html
Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy Clearinghouse (EREC): eetd.lbl.gov
Energy Guide: Unbiased advice about today’s energy choices. Find ways to save, lower your bills & help
the earth’s environment - www.energyguide.com
Energy Star Federal Tax Credits: www.energystar.gov/tax credits.
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC): www.ferc.gov
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission(FERC): www.ferc.gov
Find Solar: www.findsolar.com
Fossil Fuel Freedom: Group working to make Vermont’s energy plan 100% free of fossil fuels:
To join this group go to: groups.google.com/group/fossil-fuel-freedomGreywater Info: www.oasisdesign.net/greywater
Home Energy Saver: Interactive site to help you identify & calculate energy savings opportunities in
your home. A lot of great information! - hes.lbl.gov
Home Power Magazine: www.homepower.com
IREC/ Interstate Renewable Energy Council: RE educational info. www.irecusa.org
NABCEP/ North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners: This organization that tests &
certifies PV system installers. Individuals are Certified, companies are not. www.nabcep.org
NESEA/ Northeast Sustainable Energy Assoc.: www.nesea.org
National Association of Energy Service Co. (NAESCO): www.naesco.org
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL): www.nrel.gov
National Solar Institute: www.nationalsolarinstitute.com
NeighborWorks® Alliance of Vermont: Low-cost energy loans - www.vthomeownership.org
New Hampshire Sustainable Energy Assoc. NHSEA Focused on N.E. US, for consumers & industry- RE
& clean building info, events. www.nhsea.org
New York Solar Energy Industries Association/NYSEIA www.nyseia.org
NFRC independent rating & labeling system for the windows, doors, skylights www.nfrc.org/
NH Office of Energy and Planning: www.nh.gov/oep/programs/energy/RenewableEnergyIncentives.htm
Renewable Energy World: www.renewableenergyworld.com
Renewable Energy Vermont: www.revermont.org
SEIA/ Solar Energy Industries Association: The SEIA Tax Manual to answer your solar related tax questions. www.seia.org
SmartPower: www.smartpower.org
Solar Components: www.solar-components.com
Solar Living Source Book: realgoods.com/solar-living-sourcebook
Solar Power Rocks: Impressive data and info ,including per state. www.solarpowerrocks.com/
Solar Store of Greenfield, MA Stock & install a wide variety of solar & environmentally friendly technologies. SolarStoreofGreenfield.com
Tax Incentives Assistance Project (TIAP): www.energytaxincentives.org
The Energy Grid: www.pvwatts.org
The Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy (EERE): develops & deploys efficient & clean
energy technologies that meet our nation’s energy needs - www.eere.energy.gov
Track the Stimulus Money: www.recovery.gov/Pages/home.aspx
Vermont Energy and Climate Action Network (VECAN): works to start and support town energy
committees as a powerful, people-powered response to realizing a clean energy future. www.vecan.net.
Vermont Tar Sands Action: Group working to stop the XL Pipeline and any other developments stemming
from the Alberta Tar Sands. To join this group go to: groups.google.com/group/vt-tar-sands-action
VPIRG: understand the clean energy resources available to VT - www.vpirg.org/cleanenergyguide
VT Energy Investment Corporation (VEIC): nonprofit organization that issues home energy ratings for
new & existing homes. 800-639-6069 - www.veic.org
Weatherization, Energy Star & Refrigerator Guide: www.waptac.org
www.susdesign.com Online info for solar benefit with house design. i.e. window overhangs, sun angle & path…
BUSINESS
LISTINGS
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Phone: 1-888-526-3275.
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THE HVIZDA TEAM, LLC
Keller Williams Metropolitan
603-557-6661 direct 603-232-8282 office
168 S River Rd, Bedford, NH 03110
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Conservation, Land Access & Transfer, Homesteads,
Equine & Residential Real Estate.
Ryan Hvizda • [email protected]
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CLASSIFIEDS
FAIRBANKS MUSEUM & PLANETARIUM
Fairbanks Museum & Planetarium
1302 Main Street, St. Johnsbury, VT 05819
(802) 748-2372
www.fairbanksmuseum.org
Eclectic cabinet of curiosities with birds, butterflies, shells, minerals, and artifacts from
around the world.
HIRING PASSIVE HOUSE PROFESSIONALS
Steven Winter Associates, Inc. is hiring Passive House
professionals certified in either the international or
U.S. standard. The ideal candidate will have a desire to
work directly with clients as well as perform modeling
and field inspections. For info, visit www.swinter.com
HYDROELECTRIC BUSINESS
Hydroelectric business and home located in picturesque Pittsfield, Maine town of 5,000. Includes two
operating FERC exempted sites total install capacity of
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½ mile from home. Hydro can be purchased separately
from home. Serious inquiries only. Call or email Chris
at 207-487-5049/[email protected].
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Energy Awareness, Understanding & Independence!
GUIDE TO ADVERTISERS
ACI Home Performance Coalition 29
ARC Mechanical
23
Barre Electric & Lighting Supply 11
Brattleboro Realty
19
Building Alternatives, Inc.
26
Catamount Solar
8
Cate’s Garden
38
Clean Energy Collective
21
Co-op Power Sustainability Summit2
Colby-Sawyer College
40
County Tire Center
5
CREW18
D Acres
39
Dan and Whit’s Country Store
36
Dick Walker Sawmill
32
E-Solutions7
EcoFasten Solar
12
Elmore Roots
39
Encore Renewable Energy
11
Energy Emporium
14
Environmental Solar Systems, Inc. 8
Fairbanks Museum & Planetarium 34, 39
Farmway8
Frase Electric
13
Friends of the Sun
32
Froling Energy
3
Geobarns28
Gerrish Honda
4
Gilmore Home Center
30
Grappone Auto Group
4
Grass Roots Solar
10
Great Brook Solar
18
Green Energy Options
15
Green Mountain Geothermal
22
Greenfield Community College 33
GreenHomesForSale.com19
Groton Timberworks, Inc.
26
Halfmoon Construction
28
Heritage Natural Finishes
30, 34
Hundred Acre Consulting
2
Integrity Energy
2
Iron Edison
9
J. Myers Builders & Insulation
26
LEDdynamics30
Local Energy Solutions Conference3
Loewen Window Center
30
Mean Green Mowers
36
Menck Windows
31
Middlebury Natural Foods Co-op 39
Milhouse Enterprises
12
Montpelier Construction
26, 27
NH Electric Co-op (NHEC)
23
Norwich Technologies
10
NY Solar Energy Society
20
O’meara Solar
10
Oakes Bros. Lumber
30
Passive House Alliance VT
27
Passive House Institute US (PHIUS)29
Passive House of Vermont
27
Peck Solar Electric
11
Pinnacle Window Solutions
31
Power Guru
8
R.H. Irving Homebuilders
27
RAE Batteries
9
Revision Energy
13
Revolution Solar
18
Robomow37
Saxton River Solar
11
Snow Dragon Solar
13
Snowdog Construction
26
Solar Source
14
Solar Store of Greenfield
15
Solartech7
Solavore, LLC
37
Soundslides19
Steven Winter Associates, Inc.
34
Stiebel-Eltron23
Sunnyside Solar Store
11
TARM USA
40
The Farmyard Store
23
The Flying Goose Restaurant
39
Upper Valley Co-op
39
Vermont Law School
33
Vermont Mutual Insurance Group 27
Vermont Soap Organics
37
Vermont Transportation
5
VT ICF
27
Woodmaster21
Wright Builders
28
Wright Construction Co.
27
GREEN
LIFE HOME
& HEALTHALL
IT’S A GREEN
LIFE …AFTER
WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG802.439.6675
802.439.6675JUNE
August
2016 35
WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG
15, 2014
Passive House Goes
to the Next Level
Cont’d from p. 29
By Larry Plesent
You work hard in your busy day doing
what you do. Work, chores, and everything involved in keeping the rain off
your head, the wind off your back, and
the wolves from your door. And then we
drop off to sleep.
And we wake up and do it again.
For years (most of my life actually), I
took it for granted that we slept to recover and rest up for our next busy day.
Work and rest. Work and rest. For maybe
100 years if we are lucky.
But what if I had it all wrong, and the
opposite is actually true?
What if we work all day to set ourselves up to then do the REAL work of
living? And what if that real work occurs
while we sleep? In other words, do we
work all day to sleep? Or do we sleep
just to wake up and work?
This is not a trick question. There are
unanswered mysteries in the realm
of sleep, just as there are unanswered
mysteries in the realm of the awake. And
it is extremely hard to gather all the data
because sleep comes with a built in amnesia mechanism. We awake and have
already forgotten most of the lands we
traveled when our eyes were shut tight.
And so I have to wonder.
SLEEPING ON THE JOB…
Did I dance and play and learn from
my friends in the lands of dreams? Do the
people I meet by accident in the awake
times actually make an appointment to
get together while we slept; to learn,
share stories and to celebrate being alive?
How many times have YOU changed
course, turned left instead of right and
met someone whose words and actions
changed the course or tone of your daily life? Coincidence? Happenstance? Or appointment?
I do not have all the
answers. Like nearly all of
us, I have way more questions than answers. But I ask
you to practice questioning
the current basic western
civilization tenets of human
existence. We may in fact
have been looking at it all
wrong.
Time will tell. Maybe we
should sleep on it.
This is the Soapman reminding you to take time out to enjoy
the warm season and to keep
thinking about the molecules!
Z
Image: Publicdomainpictures.net
Greener Lawn Mowing Options
By George Harvey
My first job was tending grass in a local
cemetery. I used hand clippers to make the
grass around the headstones look nice. I
was sixteen years old, and for that reason
was not allowed near lawn mowers. The
cemetery management considered them
too dangerous for anyone under eighteen
years old to be around.
The problem. The health hazards of gasoline-powered lawnmowers are well known
to the operator and to the atmosphere with
the amount of emissions that they put out.
Operators are exposed to fumes from the
combustion of inefficient engines, as well as
damage to one’s hearing from the levels of
noise from the machines.
We could go on at length about the
environmental problems of small internal
combustion machines, which contribute
significant amounts of pollution to the
atmosphere. While it has proven difficult
to quantify the damage fully, a simple fact
provides an understanding of the scale.
According to the Environmental Protection
Agency, the amount of gasoline and oil
spilled just filling these engines is about 17
million gallons per year. This is more than
was lost by the Exxon Valdez. And according to the government of Massachusetts,
“One quart of motor oil can pollute 250,000
gallons of water, and one gallon of gasoline can pollute 750,000 gallons of water!”
(http://bit.ly/oil-pollutes-water)
It happens that the 750,000 gallons of
water is about what goes over Niagara Falls
(both falls combined) in one second, when
it is at full flow. The amount of water we
can pollute with the gasoline spilled while
filling lawnmower engines would keep
Niagara Falls at full flow for about 196 days
each year.
You can think about this environmental
damage in two ways. First, you could see
that it is spread out over the entire country,
so no one really notices. Alternatively, you
could see that it is spread out over the
entire country, so the damage is poisoning
the environment everywhere. And guess
what? The first person poisoned is usually
yourself, and the first water or soil you pollute is usually your own.
The Solution. Fortunately we have some
good solutions. They range from simple
and inexpensive to high-tech. Some are
great sources of exercise. Others are so
easy, that they don’t even need you!
At the simple end, we can easily find
pusher-style reel mowers, which have
been around almost as long as lawns have.
They are inexpensive, with most models
costing well below $150, and some are as
low as $70. They are a perfect solution for
anyone with a small lawn, and in fact, the
only person I have ever known who lived
in Manhattan and had a lawn used one of
these. The lawn was about ten by
twenty feet, and mowing was
a weekly chore lasting about
ten minutes, most of which
was getting the mower out
and putting it away.
Another solution is to
plant some ground
cover. Any form
of ivy that
does not climb is a candidate, as are a number of other plants. Historically, chamomile
and thyme have been candidates. A person
who really enjoys playing croquet or
badminton, or just sitting on a lawn chair
on the lawn, can keep a portion of the lawn
as grass and mow it with a reel-type lawn
mower.
Electric lawn mowers are a blessing I
appreciated the first time I tried one. They
come in different forms. The least expensive ones are usually plug-in models, and
though it takes a little planning to mow a
lawn without running over the electric line,
it is much easier than some people might
imagine. A few of these models cost less
than $100.
A popular alternative today is a batterypowered push mower, which can cost
upwards of $250. Electric riding lawn mowers have been sold in the past, but they
are costly and very hard to find. There is a
good commercial one that we recommend,
called the Mean Green Mower. They do
have one out that has solar panels
above the operator and costs
$10,910. www.meangreenproducts.com.
Our editor, Nancy Rae Mallery,
who is known for being frugal,
efficient, environmentally conscious, and very much in favor of simple
living, has a clear favorite. It is the robotic
electric mower. The lowest cost models of
these can occasionally be found at prices
below $900. The advantages are rather
astonishing. Once the machine is set
up, it knows where to mow and when. It
plugs itself in at its outlet, and goes about
its business with almost no management.
After much research,
Cont’d on p.36
the Robomow, which
Village Centre Apartments in Brewer, ME is one of the
largest multifamily passive buildings in North America. Photo: Community Housing of Maine (CHOM)
the Orchards at Orenco in Hillsboro, OR,
and Second + Delaware in Kansas City,
MO. These projects demonstrate to affordable multifamily housing developers and
program managers that pursuing passive
building standards can have a huge
impact on helping them meet their bottom line while providing quality, healthy
homes for those in need.
On our recently launched Multifamily
Resource Center at multifamily.phius.org
we are compiling detailed performance
data and metrics for these real-world case
studies to inform designers, developers,
policymakers, program managers, and
investors about the levels of performance
that can be achieved with a PHIUS+ certified building.
The Quest for Zero
Buildings designed and built to the
PHIUS+ 2015 Standard consume 86% less
energy for heating and 46% less energy
for cooling (depending on climate zone
and building type) when compared to a
code-compliant building (International
Energy Conservation Code IECC 2009),
resulting in an overall site Energy Use
Intensity (EUI) of approximately 10-20
kBTU/ft2 year.
Energy efficiency at this scale means
that the addition of a small renewable
energy system cannot only zero out a
building’s greenhouse gas emissions and
reduce its carbon footprint under normal
operation, but occupants can also survive
off the grid in the event of natural disaster
or other crisis. If all buildings were built to
passive building standards, then a small
micro-grid would suffice to power an
entire community and make it less vulnerable to larger-scale power outages.
Connect with Us
Join us in Philadelphia from September
21-25, 2016 for the 11th Annual North
American Passive House Conference
(NAPHC2016) as we explore these topics
in greater depth. The event features two
days of in-depth pre-conference workshops, followed by two days of core conference breakout sessions, and culminates
in a daylong tour of passive building
projects in the region. Let’s work together
to bring the benefits of passive buildings
– health, comfort, safety, resiliency and
efficiency – to the mainstream.
To learn more and register to attend
NAPHC2016, visit naphc2016.phius.org.
Katrin Klingenberg is the Executive Director
of Passive House Institute US (PHIUS), which
she co-founded in 2003. A German-born and
-trained architect, she drove the development
of the new climate-specific, cost-optimized
PHIUS+ 2015 Passive Building Standard and
directs the technical and research programs
of PHIUS. Learn more at phius.org.
IT’S A GREEN LIFE …AFTER ALL
36 August 2016 WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG 802.439.6675
An Old-Fashioned General Store
With a New Sense of Style
On September
they acquired
By George Harvey
11, 2013, a
the building
suspicious fire
and started the
severely damlong project of
aged the Riders
bringing it back
Crossing Tack
to life.
Shop in Vischer
This was
Ferry, a hamlet
not a commercial project,
in Clifton Park,
however, with
New York. Such
income as its
an event always
bottom line.
is difficult for
For all six of
the community
those involved,
where it happens. It is all the
it was a labor of
more traumatic The original Olsen’s General Store in Vischer’s Ferry, New York holds
love. It was not
many memories for the locals. Photo: Flickr, picssr.com.
when the fire
even merely a
is in a building
restoration of
that has fond memories for the people who
a building of some historic importance to
have lived their lives nearby. The building,
those who lived near it. Its intention was to
built in the mid-nineteenth century, was
restore the building to be both true to its
remembered by many as Olsen’s General
historic origins and sustainable.
Store, a place where youngsters could
Joanne Coons explained the project,
spend idle moments sitting on the porch,
saying, “We’re going to maximize what we
watching the world spin. The building
can within historic preservation standards.”
housed the general store, and two apartFor example, the wood in the restoration
ments. After the fire, it needed help.
came from the original building, if possible. Choice of materials was based on
George and Karan Donohue, close neighbors of the closed tack shop, were worried
the “reduce, reuse, and recycle” philosophy.
about what would come of the damaged
Wainscotting for the old walls and ceilings
building. As it happened, they knew another
was carefully removed and cleaned up to
couple, Joanne and Paul Coons, who lived
see life again. New pillars and siding were
in the area and had a reputation for doing
purchased from an Amish saw mill. Original
careful renovations of old buildings. With
street-facing windows were rebuilt with
another couple, Tom and Louise McManus,
Indow brand interior storms. Re-used interior doors, hinges and knobs came from the
who also were neighbors living close by in
Albany Historic Foundation and Willow Hill
a building the Coons had earlier restored,
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The repurposed building is now energy efficient and
called the Vischer Ferry General Store and apartments.
Photos above and to the right courtesy of Joanne Coons.
Restoration in Fort Plain. Vermont Coatings
from Green Conscience Home and Garden
in Saratoga, a low VOC product made from
milk whey, was used for all wood finishes.
Of course, some decisions have to take
into account those modern technologies
that improve on what was available in
the 1850s. Roxul (a brand of mineral-wool
insulation) and dense-packed and blown-in
insulation cut down on heat loss in a building from a time when insulation was nearly
unknown. A new standing-seam metal roof,
made from recycled metal, was installed.
Countertops were made of soapstone.
Energy Star appliances were used. GE
GeoSprings air source heat pump water
heaters provide fossil free domestic hot
water. Electric vent less heat pump dryers
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A ground source heat pump, provides for
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was when it opened decades
back. But it also has twenty solar
panels on the roof, and it hosts a
charging station for electric vehicles. It is not free, like Tesla’s, but it is there.
Dan & Whits has a lot of local goods,
including fresh vegetables, whenever possible. Store policy is to avoid letting things
go to waste. You can buy a purse made
from recycled auto and boat parts. You can
buy new clothing made from good repurposed cloth. Day-old sandwiches have been
donated to people hiking the Appalachian
Trail, and also to Willing Hands, an Upper
Valley food-distribution agency. When there
is an oversupply of milk and eggs, some
are donated to the Upper Valley Haven, a
regional agency that works with homeless
people.
Dan & Whits, a remarkable old-fashioned
store, can be visited online at www.danandwhitsonline.com.
Norwich, Vermont
Everyone should experience an oldfashioned New England general store. They
can be delightful, and perhaps Dan & Whits
in Norwich, Vermont, is about as delightful
as they get.
Dan Fraser, the current manager, is the
grandson of the original Dan, who started
the store with Whit in 1932. Fraser has
worked there all his life, ten years as manager. Clearly, this is a store with a history.
“We were the predecessor to Wal*Mart,” Dan
said.
It also has a very special market niche that
Wal*Mart cannot fill. A real New England
general store, its motto is, “If we don’t have
it, you don’t need it.”
The store is heated with wood, just as it
D a n
Manufacturing a full line of Electric,
Lithium Powered Mowers , Hand Held
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tion system keeps the air fresh and filtered
for healthier fossil free living. Hopefully
soon the electricity will be provided by
offsite community solar. This works nicely to
preserve the historic nature of the building.
The driveway is made of rubblestone,
which helps recharge groundwater cause
less runoff and reduce storm sewer load.
What had been Olsen’s General Store in
the memories of many residents of Rexford
was reopened as the Vischer Ferry General
Store and apartments. The name a reflection
of its past, but it gives a new sense of purpose to what that name means. It is run by
neighbor, Louise McManus. The store sells
artisan-produced gifts for home and garden,
local specialty baked goods and coffee. It
has nice places to sit and enjoy life, where
people can enjoy remembering earlier days.
Dan ‘n Whitt’s General Store
By Green Energy Times Staff
Commercial
Inside the historic Vischer Ferry
General Store
that is now fossil fuel free and
energy efficient
throughout.
&
W h it ’s
If w e d o n’t ha ve it, yo u d o n’t ne e d it!
319 Main St, Norwich VT 05055 (802)649-1602
Open daily • 7am - 9pm
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IT’S
A GREEN LIFE …AFTER ALL
Cooking with Solar
By N. R. Mallery
…All year long
Let’s talk about dinner, which requires cooking while the sun is shining strongly. Recently
I cooked up a marinated portobello mushroom with roasted sweet potatoes and some
veggies. It was yummy. I’ve also cooked up
rice and salmon, this summer. To roast garlic,
take a fall bulb, snip off the top and place on
parchment paper. Drizzle olive oil over the
garlic. Wrap the parchment paper and garlic
bulb with foil, and toss it into the solar oven
alongside your meal.
Last winter I enjoyed cooking winter squash
and roasted vegetables, baked potatoes,
baked apples or heating up some chili or hot
mulled cider to enjoy after an afternoon of
cross country skiing.
The solar oven does require thinking ahead,
because it generally takes a little bit longer to
cook your food. And if it’s partly cloudy, it can
interfere with the whole process. It’s important
to keep an eye on the temperature and adjust
the oven to face the sun so the food cooks
appropriately. With a little experience, you can
learn to adjust the heat by changing the angle
of the solar oven.
As fun as this all is, I have definitely learned
to appreciate the extra value and independence that my solar oven gives me. Not
cooking indoors this summer adds a bit to
help to keep my home cooler. It’s an ideal
option to use in the summer, but can be used
year-round.
I personally use a Solavore Sport brand solar
oven. Other members of my family have other
types — one son has a foldable model, one
son also has a Solavore oven, and my daughter
has a super heavy duty model. I would definitely recommend a solar oven. It’s just plain
fun and works well without fossil fuels. One
downfall is that you need the sun to be shining
to use it.
At the time of this writing, we are in the
midst of a heat wave and drought here in
Vermont and in much of the Northeast. I live in
a passive solar home that is designed to keep
the heat in or out, according to season. Nevertheless, I try to work with whatever weather I
get. I got a new solar oven about nine months
ago. The present weather has given me more
opportunity to use my solar oven, and use it I
have.
I can keep my coffee heated or steep some
tea at breakfast time. It works great to cook up
eggs as long as you are not in a super hurry.
I like to use last night’s leftover veggies with
eggs, add some pesto, and put it all into a
small oiled iron skillet or bowl. I simply put it
into the solar oven on my deck. I might add
some cooked sweet potatoes in another oiled
pan to round out the breakfast and then go
about morning chores. About 15 minutes
before the eggs are done I might add some
shredded cheese. When it’s done,add some
sliced peaches and blueberries for a gourmet
breakfast or brunch by mid-morning. If I want
something simple, cooking oatmeal is easy. Or
if you want something ready-made for breakfast, you can bake your own granola.
By George Harvey
Lunchtime is perfect for using the solar
I got my solar oven last winter also. The
oven. I like to heat up a frozen flat bread pizza,
first thing I did with it was to cook spaghetti
possibly over a bed of asparagus that has been
squash. It was February, and the high temperacoated with olive oil and garlic. Or I might try
ture for the day was about 27º F. The squash
my specialty of a tortilla shell that has been
took most of the day to cook in the weak
oiled on both sides; I top it with shredded
sunshine,
cheese, pesto,
but it was
tomato sauce,
done before
leftover kale
dusk.
and veggies
I share
and put it all
my stove
in the solar
with a
oven until it’s
neighbor,
done. Fold the
who uses
tortilla, slice
it more
up some fresh
frequently
fruit, veggies
than I do.
or a salad, and
Her apvoilà - a lunch
fit for queens! A solar cooked meal: Portobello with sweet potatoes and cauliflower. proach to
WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG August 2016 37
life is very frugal, and she clearly thought buying a solar stove would be wasteful, because
she had made her own from cardboard and
reflective foil in the past. She clearly likes the
Solavore oven we use, however, as she uses
it frequently; I have not seen her old homemade cooker recently.
The solar oven can be used for just about
anything that could be cooked in a crockpot.
It has the advantage that it uses no electricity. But it also can be used for other heating.
It is good for baking certain things, and I have
been told this includes some kinds of bread,
though I have not tried it yet. It can also be
used for pasteurizing things, which is an easy
job for a solar oven, because it only requires
145º F for thirty minutes.
You cannot use a solar oven any time you
want, because the sun does not always shine.
But when the sun shines, it is always worth
considering.
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38 August 2016 WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG 802.439.6675
“Pickin’ Up Pawpaws, Put ‘em in Yur Pocket …”
PAWPAW - IN SEARCH OF AMERICA’S FORGOTTEN FRUIT
By Andrew Moore, Chelsea Green Publishing, July 2015, 296 pages, $26
Book Review by N. R. Mallery
Pawpaw? What’s a pawpaw? Do you regroups are helpmember singing “Pickin’ up paw paws, put
ing to make it
‘em in your pocket … way down yonder
happen.
in the pawpaw patch” when you were a
Moore
child? Did you ever stop to wonder what a
writes that
pawpaw was? Most of us probably never
pawpaws are
did, let alone actually eat one. It turns out
a poster child
that the pawpaw is actually a unique fruit
for American
that grows wild in twenty-six states and
permaculture
sustained Native Americans, European
(permanent
explorers, presidents and African Ameriagriculture
cans in the past.
– a sustainThere are many reasons why you may
able design
not be familiar with them – in part besystem
cause they were nearly forgotten until the
modeled on
more recent interest in reviving this mysnaturally occurring ecoterious fruit. The pawpaw, Asimina triloba,
systems). The pawpaw plant is resistant
is the largest of all edible fruits native to
to the ravages of most pests, to start with.
the United States. In the forward, Michael
The founder of the famous Ohio Pawpaw
W. Twitty describes the fruit as “a tropical
Festival and owner of Chmiel’s Integratree in a temperate landscape that thrives
tion Acres believes they are a model of
in the understory on the forest edge or in
a permaculture system where pawpaws
open fields.” He later states, “No fruit has
are a large component to make it all work
captured the imagination of the forager
together. Since most animals will not eat
community in the past twenty years like
them, they can be efficiently integrated
the pawpaw.”
with grazing farm animals, including
Even so, you may wonder what they
goats and pigs or wildlife such as deer.
look like, taste like, where do they grow
The farm animals’ manure, in turn provide
and why you do not see them in the
nutrients for the trees and attract polmarket, and do they grow here in the
linators as well. There are many examples
northeast? The best answers are in the
of how farmers are working with them
book, of course.
that will certainly
There are varilead to the time
ous opinions on
when most will
the taste of this
know just what a
fruit – you either
pawpaw is.
love it or hate it,
But the taste is
which may be
not all that makes
dependent on
this fruit unique.
the variety and
Pawpaws are
ripeness. The
highly nutritious
author’s quest
and offer many
to find and taste
health benefits
one eventuthat scientists
ally led him to
have been studyOhio where he
ing for decades
finally found
and have shown
Pawpaws fruits. Courtesy photo.
that first pawthat the chemipaw by what he
cal compounds
described as a sweet, tropical aroma in
in Asimina triloba might be the strongest
a grove of the uncommon trees. When
cancer-fighting tool yet discovered, for
he reached to touch the fruit, it fell
instance.
gently right into his hand. Moore said,
I picked up the book out of curiosity,
“it looked like an expensive import on a
and in my quest for my own evolving
grocery shelf, not something you could
permaculture journey with sustainability
pick for free.” There were three more on
and am left with a deep desire now to
the ground, of various sizes and shapes.
find some pawpaw trees to establish near
Squeezing the pulp into his mouth, the
my home in Vermont. I plan to start this
author’s description was that he “sensed
fall which is a great time to plant trees. I
first the texture – like custard, smooth,
hear of some that are growing in Brattleand delicate – the flavor was truly tropical,
boro, which is 90 miles south of my home.
with hints of vanilla, caramel, and mango
If climate change continues to bring the
… another one tasted like melon. Both
mild winters like last year, I am hopeful to
were unlike anything I’d eaten before.” He
be pickin’ up pawpaws and putting them
was shocked that he had only recently
in my own pockets in the near future.
heard about the pawpaw.
Another reason many have not heard
about pawpaws is because they only
ripen in September with just a few days
to eat them after being picked or when
they fall from the tree. This alone makes
marketing them difficult.
Moore’s first experience led to many
more to quench the thirst he had to find
the answers of how this wonderful fruit
was, it seems, forgotten. Thus, the book
covers the history of pawpaws, and the
reasons why so many of us only have the
memory of pawpaws as words in a chilImage from Pinterest. Recipe at taste.com.au/recidren’s song. It also covers the importance
pes/25788/pawpaw+parfait. Photo by Rob Palmer
of its revival, and how many folks and
IT’S A GREEN LIFE … AFTER ALL!
KALE | FOR LATE SEASON HARVESTS
Courtesy of West Coast Seeds
Late season planting is often
a finicky affair. With choices
limited, it takes careful consideration in picking the right seeds
to keep your harvests arriving
weekly even late into the season.
Kale (Family: Brassicacea,
Latin Brassica oleracea var.
acephala) is that savory, sweet
leafy vegetable that is the go-to
“superfood” in many celebrity
diets. Top athletes also swear
by kale as their veggie of choice
because it’s rich in iron, calcium,
and vitamins A, C, and K. It also
contains the highest levels of
Purple Kale. Photo ourtesy of West Coast Seeds
beta-carotene among green
vegetables, though collards are
not far behind.
Mix ¼ cup of complete organic fertilizer
All varieties of kale are quite easy to
into the soil beneath each transplant, or
grow. It is cold-tolerant, vigorous, nutriuse one cup beneath every 3m (10 feet) of
tious and easy to harvest and prepare.
seed furrow.
And the greens get even sweeter after
Harvest: Kale and collards can both be
frost. It’s great for juicing and blending
grown as a cut and come again crop for
nutrient packed smoothies and stores
salad mixes by direct-seeding and cutting
well.
when plants are 5 to 8 cm (2 to 3″) tall.
Follow along with this handy How to
They will re-grow. Or pick leaves from the
Grow Kale and Collards from Seeds Guide
bottom up on mature plants as you need
and grow healthful food!
them. In spring, the surviving plants start
Kale is easy to grow!
to flower, so eat the delicious flowering
steps and buds.
Recommended: Lacinato is a summerDiseases and pests: Protect from cabtime favorite. While it is less cold-hardy
bage moths and other insect pests with
than many of its cousins, it forms tall, alfloating row cover. Prevent disease with a
most architectural rosettes of substantial
strict 4-year crop rotation, avoiding plantleaves. Packed with flavor and nutrients,
ing Brassicas in the same spot more than
it’s a great variety for the beginner kale
once every four years.
farmer.
Companion planting: All Brassicas
For urban gardeners: Dwarf Green
benefit from chamomile, dill, mint,
Curled varieties stay smaller and more
rosemary, and sage. Avoid planting near
compact and grows perfectly well in coneggplants, peppers, potatoes, or tomatainers or raised beds. It’s also cold-hardy,
toes. Plant collards near tomatoes, which
so well suited to winter harvesting.
repel the flea beetles that so often look
Season: Cool season (but will generally
for collard leaves to eat.
grow all summer in northern climates)
Fall planting: Here’s a list of seeds to
Exposure: Full sun
start
in August for fall and winter harvests.
Zone: Winter hardy to zone 6.
These fast-growing seeds are cold-hardy
Timing: Direct sow March to mid-July
and will thrive as the nights get cooler in
for summer to winter harvests. Optimal
late August and September.
soil temperature: 10-30°C (50-85°F). Seeds
Arugula, beets, carrots, cauliflower
should germinate in 7 to 10 days.
(start indoors, transplant first week
Starting: Sow 3-4 seeds 5mm (¼”)
September for fall harvest), chervil, chives
deep in each spot you want a plant to
(after the 15th), cilantro, columbine, corn
grow. Thin to the strongest plant. Space
salad (after the 15th), garlic, kale and col45-60cm (18-24″) apart in rows 75 to
lards, kohlrabi, lettuce, mescluns, mus90cm (30 to 36″) apart.
tards, pac choi, parsley, peas (before the
Growing: Ideal pH: 6.0 to 6.8. Add lime
15th), radishes (after the 15th), scallions,
to the bed three weeks prior to sowing.
spinach, sweet peas, Swiss chard.
Kale likes well-drained, fertile soil high in
organic matter. This plant prefers plentiful,
* More on companion planting and other
consistent moisture. Drought is tolerable,
organic gardening questions as well as
but quality and flavor of leaves can suffer.
recipes can be found at www.westcoastseeds.com.
For Gardeners, By Gardeners ...
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IT’S A GREEN LIFE …AFTER ALL
WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG 802.439.6675 August 2016 39
PLANT
IN
THE
FALL
for amazing results!
ELMORE ROOTS’ PERMACULTURE KNOW-HOW
Courtesy photo.
Elmore Roots Nursery
Turning sunlight and water into fruits and nuts for 33 years
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There are at least
three great reasons
for fall planting:
1. The earth is
moist, and it will be
raining or snowing for the next
six months, so the
new plantings will
receive all the moisture they need without having to water
them. This is especially good for those
without time to water, or who don’t live
full time at the same place where you are
planting
2. Many people think you have to wait
for spring to plant, but you lose a few
growing seasons. When you plant in fall
the tree or shrub much prefers being in
the earth than in its pot. It will begin to
grow in mid- or late March, way before
anyone even considers planting in the
north. This means you get fruit and flowers a lot sooner as you are gaining a few
seasons of growth, especially that early
spring when they really take off.
3. We don’t have as much to do as we
do in springtime. When we plant now we
have something to look forward to in our
landscape when the snow melts ....
At Elmore Roots, we have been successfully planting fruit trees, nut trees and
berry plants for 36 years in the fall. We
save time not having to water them all
spring and summer, like we would if we
waited until then to plant. When you plant
well rooted trees in September, October
or November, they will usually grow very
well and give you many years of fruit and
flowers, except you will not have to wait
as long or work as hard to get it!
Paw paws are fun to grow, and you
can plant them in the fall, too. About 15
years ago we saw paw paws ripening on
some trees in Bristol, Vermont. We dug
up some shoots (after asking of course)
and planted them around our hill. Some
of them have grown, and we have added
more. Neal Peterson has searched all over
America for the
best and tastiest
cultivars of paw
paw. I wrote to
him and asked
which ones would
be the best for
our northern
Vermont climate.
It turns out the
key is to have early
ripening ones,
like “Pennsylvania
Golden” or “Sunflower.” These are some of
the ones we offer at our nursery.
Paw paws are the most northern
species of a fruit that include soursop
and cherimoya. The fruits are large and
delicious, and the leaves look like tropical
rainforest leaves, ornamental in their own
right. Ours have not fruited yet, but they
do not show any winter dieback, just
moose and deer nibbling.
We carry in our nursery store and
recommend the new paw paw book, Pawpaw — In Search of America’s Forgotten
Fruit. It will inform you about the adventure and excitement of growing this lesser
known fruit that zebra swallowtails need
to survive. I guarantee it will spark a lot
of conversation and be a point of interest
in your yard. By the way, you need two
different varieties for pollination. Why not
plant three, in case one does not make
it? You double your chances of a big ripe
succulent harvest.
David Fried grows paw paws at Elmore
Roots Nursery both in full sun and as a
south side understory of sugar maples. He
often plants more out each year in the fall.
uppervalleyfood.coop
uppervalleyfood.coop
uppervalleyfood.coop
uppervalleyfood.coop
uppervalleyfood.coop
uppervalleyfood.coop
uppervalleyfood.coop
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uppervalleyfood.coop
uppervalleyfood.coop
uppervalleyfood.coop
uppervalleyfood.coop
uppervalleyfood.coop
uppervalleyfood.coop
uppervalleyfood.coop
uppervalleyfood.coop
By David Fried
Shop
Co-ops
Shop Co-ops
Your Locally Grown, Community Owned Grocery Store Since 1976!
Your Locally Grown, Community Owned Grocery Store Since 1976!
Top left: Paw paws ripening on a tree in Bristol, Vermont. Above: Patrick, planting a fall pear tree at
Elmore Roots. All photos courtesy of David Fried.
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WRJ ~~ 802.295.5804
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193 North193
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